The Combined Effect of Licorice Extract and Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Cisplatin-Induced Hepatocellular Damage in Rats

• Published in: Metabolites Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 94
• Main Authors: Mobasher, Maysa A, Ahmed, Eman Ibrahim, Hakami, Nora Y, Germoush, Mousa O, Awad, Nabil S, Khodeer, Dina M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 06-01-2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Acids; Alanine transaminase; Alkaline phosphatase; Antioxidants; Apoptosis; Aspartate aminotransferase; Biomarkers; Bone marrow; Cancer; Cisplatin; Cytokines; Detoxification; Drug dosages; Flavonoids; Gene expression; Glutathione; Glycyrrhiza glabra extract; Hepatocytes; Hepatotoxicity; IL-1β; Inflammation; Liver; Lymphocytes B; Medical research; Mesenchymal stem cells; NF-κB protein; rat; Stem cell transplantation; Stem cells; Superoxide dismutase; Tissue engineering; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; rat; cisplatin; Glycyrrhiza glabra extract; hepatotoxicity; mesenchymal stem cells
• ISSN: 2218-1989; 2218-1989
• DOI: 10.3390/metabo13010094

Drug-induced liver damage is a life-threatening disorder, and one major form of it is the hepatotoxicity induced by the drug cisplatin. In folk medicine, Licorice (
(is used for detoxification and is believed to be a potent antioxidant. Currently, the magically self-renewable potential of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) has prompted us to explore their hepatoregenerative capability. The impact of
extract (GGE) and BM-MSCs alone and, in combination, on protecting against hepatotoxicity was tested on cisplatin-induced liver injury in rats. Hepatic damage, as revealed by liver histopathology and increased levels of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and malondialdehyde (MDA), was elevated in rats by received 7 mg/kg of cisplatin intraperitoneally. The combination of GGE and BM-MSCs returned the enzyme levels to near the normal range. It also improved levels of liver superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) and reduced MDA levels. Additionally, it was found that when GGE and BM-MSCs were used together, they significantly downregulated caspase9 (Casp9), nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-kB), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β), which are involved in severe proinflammatory and apoptotic signaling cascades in the liver. Moreover, combining GGE and BM-MSCs led to the normal result of hepatocytes in several examined liver histological sections. Therefore, our findings suggest that GGE may have protective effects against oxidative liver damage and the promising regenerative potential of BM-MSCs.