LPS‐induced macrophage exosomes promote the activation of hepatic stellate cells and the intervention study of total astragalus saponins combined with glycyrrhizic acid

Abstract Huangqi decoction, also known as Huangqi Liuyi decoction, was first recorded in the prescriptions of the Bureau of Taiping People's Welfare Pharmacy. It comprises astragalus and licorice, which is a commonly used prescription in traditional Chinese medicine for the clinical treatment of chronic liver disease, especially liver cirrhosis. Total astragalus saponins (AST) is the main component of astragalus, and glycyrrhizic acid (GA) is the main component of licorice. In this study, normal macrophage exosomes were extracted, and the exosomes incubated with lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and those incubated with LPS + AST + GA were co‐cultured with JS1 cells (hepatic stellate cell line). The survival rate and the activation of key signaling pathways of JS1 cells in each group were detected and compared. We found that the co‐culture of LPS‐induced macrophage exosomes with JS1 cells could significantly increase the expression levels of Collagen‐1 (Col‐1) and Alpha smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA)in JS1 cells. However, a significant reversal effect was observed after pretreatment with AST combined with GA. Further evaluation found that the expression levels of phospho (p)‐Smad2 and p‐Smad3 in the JS1 cells were significantly increased after macrophages were induced with LPS, whereas pretreatment with AST + GA could significantly decrease the expression levels of p‐Smad2 and p‐Smad3. Preliminary results of this study indicated that LPS‐induced macrophage exosomes can promote the activation of hepatic stellate cells, and the pretreatment of AST combined with GA can exert a significant intervention effect. In this study, the new mechanism of anti‐hepatic fibrosis effect of traditional Chinese medicine components of Huangqi Decoction was analyzed from the perspective of exosomes.