Wogonoside attenuates liver fibrosis by triggering hepatic stellate cell ferroptosis through SOCS1/P53/SLC7A11 pathway

Abstract Wogonoside (WG) is a flavonoid chemical component extracted from Scutellaria baicalensis, which exerts therapeutic effects on liver diseases. Ferroptosis, a novel form of programmed cell death, regulates diverse physiological/pathological processes. In this study, we attempted to investigate a novel mechanism by which WG mitigates liver fibrosis by inducing ferroptosis in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). A CCl 4 ‐induced mouse liver fibrosis model and a rat HSC line were employed for in vivo and in vitro experiments, both treated with WG. Firstly, the levels of the fibrotic markers α‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA) and α1(I)collagen (COL1α1) were effectively decreased by WG in CCl 4 ‐induced mice and HSC‐T6 cells. Additionally, mitochondrial condensation and mitochondrial ridge breakage were observed in WG‐treated HSC‐T6 cells. Furthermore, ferroptotic events including depletion of SLC7A11, GPX4 and GSH, and accumulation of iron, ROS and MDA were discovered in WG‐treated HSC‐T6 cells. Intriguingly, these ferroptotic events did not appear in hepatocytes or macrophages. WG‐elicited HSC ferroptosis and ECM reduction were dramatically abrogated by ferrostatin‐1 (Fer‐1), a ferroptosis inhibitor. Importantly, our results confirm that SOCS1/P53/SLC7A11 is a signaling pathway which promotes WG attenuation of liver fibrosis. On the contrary, WG mitigated liver fibrosis and inducted HSC‐T6 cell ferroptosis were hindered by SOCS1 siRNA and pifithrin‐α (PFT‐α). These findings demonstrate that SOCS1/P53/SLC7A11‐mediated HSC ferroptosis is associated with WG alleviating liver fibrosis, which provides a new clue for the treatment of liver fibrosis.