effect of fibroblast growth factor 21 on the expression of tlr4 and bambi genes in cholesterol-treated human hepatic stellate cells

Background: activated hepatic stellate cells (hscs) are the primary mediators in the progression of hepatic fibrosis. the activation of toll-like receptor 4 (tlr4) signaling leads to the downregulation of the transmembrane inhibitory transforming growth factor-beta (tgf-β) pseudoreceptor bmp and activin membrane-bound inhibitor (bambi) on hscs. fibroblast growth factor 21 (fgf21) is a natural secretory protein in the body with effects, such as the reduction of fat accumulation and oxidation of lipids; however; no study has investigated fgf21 ability to prevent the progression of liver fibrosis. objectives: this study aimed to examine the beneficial effects of fgf21 to reduce cholesterol-activated human hscs. methods: the human hscs were incubated in media containing different concentrations of cholesterol, including 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, and 150 μm, for 24 h and then incubated with fgf21 for 24 h. total ribonucleic acids were extracted and reversely transcribed into complementary deoxyribonucleic acid. a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed in this study. results: the results showed that the messenger ribonucleic acid (mrna) expression of tgf-β, collagen, type i, alpha 1 (collagen1α), and tlr4 genes increased significantly in the presence of cholesterol (75 and 100 μm), compared to that of the control group (* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, and *** p < 0.001); nevertheless, the mrna expression of the bambi gene significantly reduced, compared to that of the control group (* p < 0.05). the fgf21 significantly reduced the mrna expression of tgf-β, collagen1α, and tlr4 genes (# p < 0.05). the mrna expression of the bambi gene significantly increased with fgf21 (# p < 0.05). conclusions: it was concluded that the treatment with fgf21 reduces the cholesterol-activated hscs by decreasing the mrna expression of the tlr4, tgf-β, and collagen1α genes and increasing the mrna expression of the bambi gene.