Effects of colchicine on liver functions of cirrhotic rats: beneficial effects result from stellate cell inactivation and inhibition of TGF beta1 expression

Liver cirrhosis (LC) is a chronic disease with high mortality rate and its pathophysiology includes hepatic parenchymal cell destruction, connective tissue formation, and nodular regeneration. Colchicine has been used in liver diseases as an anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic drug. However, there is controversy over the beneficial effects of colchicine in LC treatment. In the present study, we injected rats with multiple doses of dimethylnitrosamine for 4 weeks and used rats with severe LC to determine whether colchicine treatment improved liver functions and resolved cirrhotic nodules. Colchicine (30-150microg/kg per day, i.p., for 4 weeks) failed to significantly increase the survival rate of LC rats. Animals were subjected to blood biochemical, liver histopathological and immunochemical analyses. The plasma albumin level, decreased in cirrhotic rats, was restored by colchicine treatment along with reduction of ascites. Colchicine decreased the accumulated extracellular matrix and the multiple fibrotic nodules formed in cirrhotic liver, and eliminated alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA)-positive cells. In activated stellate cells, colchicine inhibited alpha-SMA and transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGFbeta1) expression. The results of the present study showed that colchicine resolves cirrhotic nodules and accumulated fibers in the liver of LC rats, but failed to significantly improve the survival rate of LC animals, and that the beneficial effects of colchicine in cirrhotic animals result from stellate cell inactivation and inhibition of TGFbeta1 expression.