Angelica sinensis polysaccharide (ASP) attenuates diosbulbin-B (DB)-induced hepatotoxicity through activating the MEK/ERK pathway

Diosbulbin-B (DB) is a promising therapeutic drug for cancer treatment; however, DB-induced hepatotoxicity seriously limits its clinical utilization. Based on this, the present study investigated whether the Angelica sinensis extract, angelica sinensis polysaccharide (ASP), was effective to attenuate DB-induced cytotoxicity in hepatocytes. The primary hepatocytes were isolated from rats and cultured in vitro, which were subsequently treated with high-dose DB (100 μM) and ASP (12 μg/ml) to establish the DB-induced hepatotoxicity models. MTT assay and flow cytometry (FCM) were performed to evaluate cell viability, and the results showed that high-dose DB-induced cell apoptosis and inhibition of proliferation were reversed by co-treating cells with ASP, which were supported by our Western Blot assay data that ASP upregulated Cyclin D1 and CDK2 to abrogate high-dose DB-induced cell cycle arrest. In addition, ASP exerted its regulating effects on cell autophagy, and we found that ASP increased LC3B-II/I ratio and Atg5, but decreased p62 to activate the autophagy flux. Of note, the MEK/ERK pathway could be activated by ASP in the DB-treated hepatocytes, and the protective effects of ASP on high-dose DB-induced hepatocyte death were abolished by co-treating cells with the autophagy inhibitor (3-methyladenine, 3-MA) and MEK/ERK selective inhibitor (SCH772984). Moreover, blockage of the MEK/ERK pathway suppressed cell autophagy in the hepatocytes co-treated with ASP and high-dose DB. Taken together, this in vitro study illustrated that ASP activated the MEK/ERK pathway mediated autophagy to suppress high-dose DB-induced hepatotoxicity.