Work

Ursolic acid alleviates liver injury in diabetic mice induced by high-fat diet combined with streptozotocin via the NLRP3 signaling pathway

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a type of metabolic stress-induced liver injury that is closely related to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Ursolic acid (UA), a natural pentacyclic triterpenoid compound, has anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic and liver-protective effects. However, its role in regulating liver injury through the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway in a T2DM combined with NAFLD model has not been systematically elucidated. This study systematically evaluated the protective effect of UA on NAFLD and its molecular mechanism through in vivo (STZ + high-fat diet-induced NAFLD mouse model) and in vitro (high glucose + palmitic acid-induced LO2 cell oxidative stress model) experiments. The results showed that UA significantly improved hepatic lipid deposition, reduced serum ALT/AST levels, and effectively alleviated oxidative stress, as indicated by decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) content and increased activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in liver tissues. Further mechanism studies revealed that UA could significantly down-regulate the expression levels of pro-inflammatory factor IL-1β and pro-fibrotic factor TGF-β1 by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation, and simultaneously reduce the deposition of type IV collagen. This study demonstrated that ursolic acid (UA) has a protective effect on T2DM combined with NAFLD, and its mechanism of action may be related to the regulation of the NLRP3 signaling pathway by UA, which inhibits oxidative stress, inflammation and fibrosis.

Source: PLoS ONE

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0340643

Authors: Xinyan Wang, Ruyu Ma, Di Lou, Hanbing Li, Minyou Qi

Institution: Zhejiang University of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Liver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment

Subfield: Epidemiology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,382