After treatment with silymarin, the viability of fibroblast cells significantly increased, whereas treatment with resveratrol and combinations of these flavonoids (silymarin 50 μg/ml and resveratrol 100 μg/ml) did not have any significant effect on cell viability after 24 h. Treatment with 100/200 μg/ml silymarin/resveratrol significantly decreased the cell viability after 48 h. Resveratrol inhibited histamine-induced IL-6 secretion by HGFs significantly, whereas silymarin showed significant effect on TNF-α.
Plasma concentration levels of HGF, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‑α, monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)‑1, interleukin (IL)‑1 and IL‑6 were analyzed prior to and following treatment with HGF.
Human monocytic cells (THP-1) labeled with a fluorescent reagent were co-cultured with HGFs treated with AGEs and IL-6 siRNA, and the adhesive activity of THP-1 cells to HGFs was assessed.
These patterns of expression and production suggest that enhanced TGF-beta1 and IL-6 production simultaneously increase the synthesis and reduce the proteolytic activities of fibroblasts from patients with HGF, which may favor the accumulation of extracellular matrix observed in patients with this condition.