2. Academic Validation
  3. Ophiopogonis japonicus polysaccharide inhibits oxidative stress in hepatocytes by promoting Runx3 in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Ophiopogonis japonicus polysaccharide inhibits oxidative stress in hepatocytes by promoting Runx3 in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

  • Cell Signal. 2026 Apr:140:112360. doi: 10.1016/j.cellsig.2026.112360.
Xiuchun Zhang 1,  Jianying Feng 2,  Jie Zhou 3,  Jian Wang 1,  Yang Yang 4
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Infection and Endocrine Liver Disease Department 2, Taiyuan NO.3 Hospital, The Affiliated Infectious Disease Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030012, Shanxi, PR China.
  • 2 Department of Cardiac Function Examination, Shanxi Provincial Integrated TCM and WM Hospital, Taiyuan 030013, Shanxi, PR China.
  • 3 Pharmacy Department, Taiyuan NO.3 Hospital, The Affiliated Infectious Disease Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030012, Shanxi, PR China.
  • 4 Infection and Endocrine Liver Disease Department 2, Taiyuan NO.3 Hospital, The Affiliated Infectious Disease Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030012, Shanxi, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 41520744 DOI: 10.1016/j.cellsig.2026.112360
Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents the most prevalent chronic liver disease, yet there remains an unmet need for effective therapeutic interventions. This study aimed to investigate the hepatoprotective effect of Ophiopogonis japonicus Polysaccharides (OJPs) on NAFLD and its mechanism. The benefits of OJPs or the positive drug fenofibrate in NAFLD were assessed in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). AML12 cells were induced with PA/OA to construct an in vitro model, and the benefits of OJPs were assessed in terms of oil red O staining, BODIPY staining, changes in the expression of lipid accumulation-related proteins, iron metabolism-related proteins, and oxidative stress analysis. OJPs significantly alleviated lipid accumulation and oxidative stress in PA/OA-induced AML12 cells, and maintained iron metabolism in the liver of HFD-induced mice, but the benefits of OJPs were reversed after exogenous inhibition of Runt-related transcription factor 3 (Runx3). More importantly, knockdown of Runx3 combined with overexpression of ATP-binding cassette transporter 7 (Abcb7) again restored the benefit of OJPs. Runx3 transcriptionally activated Abcb7 by binding to its promoter. The findings suggest that OJPs could serve as a pharmaceutical intervention for NAFLD through the Runx3/Abcb7 axis. This discovery unveils an unexplored association between iron metabolism and hepatic disease.

Keywords

Iron metabolism; Lipid accumulation; Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; Ophiopogonis japonicus polysaccharides; Oxidative stress.

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