Geniposide suppresses liver injury in a mouse model of DDC‐induced sclerosing cholangitis

Sclerosing cholangitis, characterized by biliary inflammation, fibrosis, and stricturing, remains one of the most challenging conditions of clinical hepatology. Geniposide (GE) has anti‐inflammatory, hepatoprotective, and cholagogic effects. Whether GE provides inhibition on the development of sclerosing cholangitis is unknown. Here, we investigated the role of GE in a mouse model in which mice were fed with 3,5‐diethoxycarbonyl‐1,4‐dihydrocollidine (DDC) for 4 weeks to induce sclerosing cholangitis. The results demonstrated that the increased hepatic gene expressions of pro‐inflammatory (IL‐6, VCAM‐1, MCP‐1, and F4/80) and profibrogenic markers (Col1α1, Col1α2, TGF‐β, and α‐SMA) in DDC feeding mice were reversed after treatment with GE. GE also suppressed expressions of CK19 and Ki67 in DDC‐fed mice, suggesting that GE could ameliorate DDC‐induced hepatocytes and cholangiocytes proliferation. In addition, GE significantly increased bile acids (BAs) secretion in bile, which correlated with induced expressions of hepatic FXR, BAs secretion transporters (BSEP, MRP2, MDR1, and MDR2), and reduced CYP7A1 mRNA expression. Furthermore, higher expressions of ileal FXR‐FGF15 signaling and reduced ASBT were also observed after GE treatment. Taken together, these data showed that GE could modulate inflammation, fibrosis, and BAs homeostasis in DDC‐fed mice, which lead to efficiently delay the progression of sclerosing cholangitis.