Ancient Herbal Formula Mahuang Lianqiao Chixiaodou Decoction Protects Acute and Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure via Inhibiting von Willebrand Factor Signaling

Background: Acute liver failure (ALF) and acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) are characterized by systemic inflammation and high mortality, but there is no effective clinical treatment. As a classic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula, MaHuang-LianQiao-ChiXiaoDou decoction (MHLQD) has been used clinically for centuries to treat liver diseases. Methods: The LPS/D−GalN-induced ALF mice model and the CCl(4)+LPS/D−GalN-induced ACLF mice model were used to observe the therapeutic effects of MHLQD on mice mortality, hepatocytes death, liver injury, and immune responses. Results: MHLQD treatment significantly improved mice mortality. Liver injury and systemic and hepatic immune responses were also ameliorated after MHLQD treatment. Mechanistically, proteomic changes in MHLQD-treated liver tissues were analyzed and the result showed that the thrombogenic von Willebrand factor (VWF) was significantly inhibited in MHLQD-treated ALF and ACLF models. Histological staining and western blotting confirmed that VWF/RAP1B/ITGB3 signaling was suppressed in MHLQD-treated ALF and ACLF models. Furthermore, mice treated with the VWF inhibitor ADAMTS13 showed a reduced therapeutic effect from MHLQD treatment. Conclusions: Our study indicated that MHLQD is an effective herbal formula for the treatment of ALF and ACLF, which might be attributed to the protection of hepatocytes from death via VWF/RAP1B/ITGB3 signaling.