Hepatoprotective effect of Arazyme on CCl₄-induced acute hepatic injury in SMP30 knock-out mice

Arazyme is a novel protease produced by the HY-3 strain of Aranicola proteolyticus, which is a Gram-negative aerobic bacterium that has been isolated from the intestine of the spider Nephila clavata. This study focused on the hepatoprotective effect of Arazyme on carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄)-induced acute hepatic injury in senescence marker protein 30 (SMP30) knock-out (KO) mice and SMP30 wild-type (WT) mice. WT mice and SMP30 KO mice were divided into eight groups as follows: (i) two negative control groups (G1, G5) which were treated with a single intraperitoneal (i.p.) olive oil injection. (ii) Two positive control groups (G2, G6) which received a single i.p. CCl₄ (0.4 mL/kg) injection. (iii) Two vitamin C-treated groups (G3, G7) which received a single oral administration of vitamin C (100 mg/kg) and were injected with a single i.p. CCl₄ (0.4 mL/kg). (iv) Two Arazyme-treated groups (G4, G8) which received a single oral administration of Arazyme (500 mg/kg) and were injected with a single i.p. CCl₄ (0.4 mL/kg). Through present study, we could find that Arazyme-treated groups showed decreased degree of liver injury, increased expression of SMP30, decreased expression of phospho-Smad3 (p-Smad3), elevated expression of antioxidant proteins including sorbitol dehydrogenase, dihydropteridine reductase (DHPR), dehydrofolate reductase (DHFR), NADH dehydrogenase, glutathione S-transferase kappa 1 (GSTK1) and phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) compared with non-Arazyme-treated groups. Therefore, it is concluded that Arazyme plays a significant role in protecting injured hepatocytes by increasing the expression of SMP30, inhibiting the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)/Smad pathway and elevating the expression of antioxidant proteins.