Basic Study
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World J Gastroenterol. Apr 21, 2024; 30(15): 2143-2154
Published online Apr 21, 2024. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i15.2143
Taurine attenuates activation of hepatic stellate cells by inhibiting autophagy and inducing ferroptosis
Sen Li, Qian-Jun Ren, Can-Hao Xie, Yang Cui, Li-Tao Xu, Yi-Dan Wang, Su Li, Xing-Qiu Liang, Bin Wen, Ming-Kun Liang, Xiao-Fang Zhao
Sen Li, Qian-Jun Ren, Can-Hao Xie, Yang Cui, Li-Tao Xu, Yi-Dan Wang, Su Li, Department of Basic Science, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning 541100, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
Xing-Qiu Liang, Bin Wen, Xiao-Fang Zhao, Department of Science and Technology, Ruikang Hospital Affiliated to Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning 541100, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
Ming-Kun Liang, Traditional Chinese Medicine Specialty Office, Ruikang Hospital Affiliated to Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning 541100, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
Co-first authors: Sen Li and Qian-Jun Ren.
Co-corresponding authors: Ming-Kun Liang and Xiao-Fang Zhao.
Author contributions: Li S drafted the manuscript and conducted the experiments of Western blotting, RT-PCR, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Ren QJ completed the cell culture and treatment, transmission electron microscopy observation, and visualization of this study; Xie CH, Cui Y, Xu LT, and Wang YD assisted with methodology and validation of this study; Li S and Wen B participated in the supervision of this manuscript; Liang XQ and Wen B contributed to the project administration and funding acquisition; Zhao XF supervised the experiments, corrected the data, revised the manuscript, and provided feedback on the whole manuscript text; Liang MK was responsible for collectively designing, performing, analyzing, and completing the study. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.
Supported by Guangxi Natural Science Foundation Program, No. 2020GXNSFAA297160 and No. 2018GXNSFBA050050; and Guipai Xinglin Youth Talent Project of Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, No. 2022C042.
Institutional review board statement: This study does not involve any human subjects.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: This study does not involve any animal subjects.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: Technical appendix, statistical code, and dataset available from the corresponding author at 37940097@qq.com.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xiao-Fang Zhao, MA, Chief Doctor, Doctor, Department of Science and Technology, Ruikang Hospital Affiliated to Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, No. 10 Huadong Road, Nanning 541100, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. 37940097@qq.com
Received: December 21, 2023
Peer-review started: December 21, 2023
First decision: January 16, 2024
Revised: January 30, 2024
Accepted: March 21, 2024
Article in press: March 21, 2024
Published online: April 21, 2024
Processing time: 120 Days and 6.4 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: We have previously demonstrated that treatment of taurine could alleviate liver fibrosis by inhibiting hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation and inhibiting activated HSC proliferation. Considering the important role of autophagy and ferroptosis in the process of liver fibrosis pathology, we used molecular biology tests and bioinformatic methods to identify the effect of taurine on autophagy and ferroptosis in HSCs in vitro. This study demonstrated for the first time that taurine could inhibit autophagy in HSCs to inhibit their activation while triggering ferroptosis and ferritinophagy to eliminate activated HSCs. Taurine has a direct targeting effect on nuclear receptor coactivator 4, exhibiting the best average binding affinity of -23.95 kcal/mol.