Sophocarpine is the major pharmacologically active compound of the traditional Chinese herbal medicine Radix Sophorae Subprostratae which has been used in treating
hepatitis for years in China. It has been demonstrated that
Sophocarpine exerts an activity in immune modulation and significantly decreases the production of inflammatory
cytokines. However, the protective effects of
Sophocarpine in T cell-dependent immune
hepatitis remained unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the protective effects and pharmacological mechanisms of
Sophocarpine on
Concanavalin A (ConA)-induced
hepatitis, an experimental model of T cell-mediated liver injury. BALB/C mice were pretreated with
Sophocarpine or
Bicyclol for five consecutive days. Thirty minutes after the final administration, the mice were injected with 15 mg⋅kg-1 of ConA intravenously. The results indicated that pretreatment with
Sophocarpine significantly ameliorated liver
inflammation and injury as evidenced by both biochemical and histopathological observations. Moreover, in
Sophocarpine-pretreated mice, liver
messenger RNA expression levels of
chemokines and adhesion molecules, such as macrophage inflammatory protein-1α,
CXC chemokine ligand 10, and
Intercellular adhesion molecule-1, were markedly reduced. Further studies revealed that
Sophocarpine significantly downregulated the expression of T-bet via inhibition of signal transducers and activators of transcription1 (STAT1) activation and overexpression of suppressor of
cytokine signaling1, inhibiting the activation of Th1 cells and the expression of
Interferon-γ (IFN-γ). Altogether, these results suggest new opportunities to use
Sophocarpine in the treatment of T cell-mediated
liver disease. In summary,
Sophocarpine could attenuate ConA-induced liver injury, and the protective effect of
Sophocarpine was associated with its inhibition effect of pro-inflammatory
cytokines,
chemokines, and the IFN-γ/STAT1 signaling pathway.