Evidence mapPaperPMID 41413484Full record

ArticleBMC gastroenterology2025

Protective anti-fibrotic effect of liraglutide and Pirfenidone combination therapy on liver fibrosis in rats: effects on autophagy and NLRP3 inflammasome.

Zeynab Yousefi, Rayan Rajabi, Saeed Karima, Mitra Nourbakhsh, Abbas Sahebghadam Lotfi

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Article in BMC gastroenterology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Zeynab YousefiBasic and Molecular Epidemiology of Gastrointestinal Disorders Research Center, Research institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Rayan RajabiOncopathology Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Saeed KarimaDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU), Tehran, Iran.
Mitra NourbakhshMetabolic Disorders Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Molecular-Cellular Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Nourbakhsh.m@iums.ac.ir.
Abbas Sahebghadam LotfiDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Jalal Ale Ahmad, Nasr, P.O. Box: 14115-111, Tehran, Iran. lotfi_ab@modares.ac.ir.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLiver fibrosis is a significant complication of chronic liver diseases. While Pirfenidone (PFD) and Liraglutide (LIR) have shown promise individually in treating fibrosis, their combined effect on autophagy and NLRP3 inflammasome pathways remains largely unexplored. METHODS AND

resultsThis study investigated the protective effects of combined LIR and PFD therapy on autophagy and NLRP3 inflammasome, fifty male Wistar rats were divided into five groups: Sham, BDL, BDL + PFD (200 mg/kg), BDL + LIR (200 µg/kg), and BDL + PFD + LIR combination. Following 20 days of treatment, liver tissues were analyzed for histological and immunohistochemical (IHC) changes, biochemical parameters, and molecular markers of fibrosis, autophagy, and inflammasome activation. The combination therapy significantly reduced serum liver injury markers (ALT, AST, ALP), decreased ECM deposition, and improved histological parameters compared to monotherapy. Combined treatment effectively suppressed inflammatory markers (NF-κB, TNF-α) while increasing anti-inflammatory IL-10. Furthermore, the combination therapy modulated autophagy markers (Beclin 1), cathepsin B, and reduced NLRP3 inflammasome activation (NLRP3, Caspase 1, IL-1β, IL-18) more effectively than either drug alone. IHC staining of Ki-67 and HepPar-1 showed that combination therapy enhanced expression of proliferative and differentiation markers.

conclusionsPFD and LIR combination therapy demonstrates superior therapeutic efficacy in treating BDL-induced LF through enhanced liver regeneration through enhanced expression of proliferative and differentiation markers and modulation of autophagy and NLRP3 inflammasome pathways, indicating that the combination of PFD and LIR represents a promising therapeutic strategy for LF.

Indexed as

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-SteroidalAutophagyInflammasomesLiraglutideLiver CirrhosisNLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 ProteinPyridonesAnimalsBeclin-1Cathepsin BDrug Therapy, CombinationLiverMaleNF-kappa BRatsRats, WistarAnti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-SteroidalBeclin-1Cathepsin BInflammasomesLiraglutideNF-kappa BNLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 ProteinNlrp3 protein, ratpirfenidonePyridonesTumor Necrosis Factor-alphaAutophagyInflammasomeLiraglutideLiver fibrosisLiver regeneration pirfenidone

Identifiers

PMID41413484
PMCPMC12831306

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.