Fasudil prevents liver fibrosis activating natural killer cells and suppressing hepatic stellate cells.

Background: Fasudil, as a Ras homology family member A (RhoA) kinase inhibitor, is used to improve brain microcirculation and promote nerve regeneration clinically. Increasing evidence shows that Rho-kinase inhibition could improve liver fibrosis.

Aim: To evaluate the anti-fibrotic effects of Fasudil in a mouse model of liver fibrosis induced by thioacetamide (TAA).

Methods: C57BL/6 mice were administered TAA once every 3 d for 12 times. At 1 wk after induction with TAA, Fasudil was intraperitoneally injected once a day for 3 wk, followed by hematoxylin and eosin staining, sirius red staining, western blotting, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and immune cell activation was assayed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Furthermore, the effects of Fasudil on hepatic stellate cells and natural killer (NK) cells were assayed .

Results: First, we found that TAA-induced liver injury was protected, and the positive area of sirius red staining and type I collagen deposition were significantly decreased by Fasudil treatment. Furthermore, western blot and qPCR assays showed that the levels of alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2), MMP-9, and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) were inhibited by Fasudil. Moreover, flow cytometry analysis revealed that NK cells were activated by Fasudil treatment in and . Furthermore, Fasudil directly promoted the apoptosis and inhibited the proliferation of hepatic stellate cells by decreasing α-SMA and TGF-β1.

Conclusion: Fasudil inhibits liver fibrosis by activating NK cells and blocking hepatic stellate cell activation, thereby providing a feasible solution for the clinical treatment of liver fibrosis.