ETM Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 1792-0981 1792-1015 D.A. Spandidos 10.3892/etm.2020.9020 ETM-0-0-9020 Articles Salvianolic acid B protects against sepsis-induced liver injury via activation of SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling SuHongling 1 MaZhisheng 1 GuoAixia 1 WuHong 2 3 YangXiangmin 1 Department of Gastroenterology, Xidian Group Hospital, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710000, P.R. China Department of General Surgery, Xidian Group Hospital, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710000, P.R. China Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China Correspondence to: Dr Hong Wu, Department of General Surgery, Xidian Group Hospital, 79 Fengdeng North Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710000, P.R. China wuhongg666@163.com

Dr Xiangmin Yang, Department of Gastroenterology, Xidian Group Hospital, 79 Fengdeng North Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710000, P.R. China doctyang@163.com

 09 2020 17 07 2020 20 3 2675 2683 13 11 2018 01 08 2019 Copyright: © Su et al. 2020 This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

Liver injury occurs frequently during sepsis, which leads to high mortality and morbidity. A previous study has suggested that salvianolic acid B (SalB) is protective against sepsis-induced lung injury. However, whether SalB is able to protect against sepsis-induced liver injury remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of SalB on sepsis-induced liver injury and its potential underlying mechanisms. Sepsis was induced in mice using a cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) method. The mice were treated with SalB (30 mg/kg intraperitoneally) at 0.5, 2 and 8 h after CLP induction. Pathological alterations of the liver were assessed using hematoxylin and eosin staining. The serum levels of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 were measured. The hepatic mRNA levels of TNF-α, IL-6, Bax and Bcl-2 were also detected. The results suggested that treatment with SalB ameliorated sepsis-induced liver injury in the mice, as supported by the mitigated pathologic changes and lowered serum aminotransferase levels. SalB also decreased the levels of the inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6 in the serum and the liver of the CLP model mice. In addition, SalB significantly downregulated Bax expression and upregulated Bcl-2 expression, and upregulated the expression levels of SIRT1 and PGC-1α. However, when sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) small interfering RNA was co-administered with SalB, the protective effects of SalB were attenuated and the expression levels of SIRT1 and PGC-1α were reduced. In summary, these results indicate that SalB mitigates sepsis-induced liver injury via reduction of the inflammatory response and hepatic apoptosis, and the underlying mechanism may be associated with the activation of SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling.

 salvianolic acid B sepsis liver injury SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling Introduction

Sepsis is a systemic and severe inflammatory reaction to an infection, and is characterized by multi-organ damage (1). It has been indicated that sepsis is the most common cause of mortality among patients in non-coronary intensive care units (2). Sepsis can lead to various types of organ damage, including liver, brain and cardiac injury (3-5). Inflammation has been demonstrated to play a critical role in the underlying mechanism of sepsis (6). The liver is a pivotal organ in the clearance of bacteria, and liver dysfunction is associated with poor prognosis (7). Notably, the attenuation of liver injury decreases the morbidity and mortality of patients with sepsis (8).

Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza is a traditional Chinese medicine with a long history of use. It has been used in the treatment of several diseases, such as angina pectoris (9) and cerebral ischemia (10). Salvianolic acid B (SalB), is one of the main components of Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza. Previous studies have indicated that SalB exhibits various biological activities, including anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects (11,12). In addition, SalB has been reported to attenuate the induction of lung injury by sepsis (13). However, whether SalB has a protective effect against sepsis-induced liver injury remains unknown. Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent class III histone deacetylase, has been reported to play critical roles in various conditions, including oxidative stress, senescence and inflammation (14,15). Additionally, SIRT1 can activate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ co-activator 1α (PGC-1α), which is a key regulator in oxidative stress of the mitochondria (16).

Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the role of SalB in sepsis-induced liver injury and determine whether SIRT1/PGC-1α is involved in the mechanism underlying the protective effect of SalB.

 Materials and methods <sec> <title>Animals

Male C57BL/6 mice (8-10 weeks old, 20-22 g, 120 mice in total) were purchased from the Center of Experimental Animals of Xi'an Jiaotong University. All mice were kept under standard care conditions (humidity, 40-70%; temperature, 18-28˚C) with a 12 h light/dark cycle and free access to water and food. The study was performed according to the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (National Institutes of Health Publication no. 85-23, revised 1996) and was approved by the Ethics Committee of Xi'an Jiaotong University (Xi'an, China).

 Reagents

SalB (purity >98%) was purchased from Shanghai Winherb Medical Science Co., Ltd. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α (cat. no. DY410) and interleukin (IL)-6 (cat. no. PM6000B) ELISA kits were acquired from R&D Systems, Inc. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (cat. no. C009-3-1) and aspartate transaminase (AST) (cat. no. C010-3-1) assay kits were purchased from Nanjing Jiancheng Bioengineering Institute. Antibodies against SIRT1 (cat. no. 9475), Bcl-2 (cat. no. 3498), Bax (cat. no. 14796) and β-actin (cat. no. 4970) were purchased from Cell Signaling Technology, Inc., and the antibody against PGC-1α (cat. no. sc-518025) was obtained from Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc.

 Experimental protocol

Mice were randomly assigned to five groups (n=24 in each group): i) Sham group; ii) cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) + vehicle group; iii) CLP + SalB (30 mg/kg) group; iv) CLP + SalB + control small interfering RNA (siRNA) group and v) CLP + SalB + SIRT1 siRNA group. The mice in the sham group underwent a sham surgery and vehicle treatment, the CLP + vehicle group received CLP and vehicle treatment, and the CLP + SalB group received CLP surgery and SalB treatment. SalB was dissolved in normal saline (to a concentration of 30 mg/kg) and administered to the mice intraperitoneally at 0.5, 2 and 8 h after the CLP surgery. In the CLP + SalB + SIRT1 siRNA group, SIRT1 siRNA (sense, 5'-ACUUUGCUGUAACCCUGUA(dTdT)-3'; antisense, 5'-UACAGGGUUACAGCAAAGU(dTdT)-3'. Invitrogen; Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.) was hydrodynamically injected into the mice 2 h prior to CLP induction. Briefly, 200 nmol/kg siRNA was diluted in normal saline and then injected into the tail vein within 10 sec. In the CLP + SalB + control siRNA group, scrambled siRNA (sense, 5'-UUCUCCGAACGUGUCACGU(dTdT)-3'; antisense 5'-ACGUGACACGUUCGGAGAA(dTdT)-3'. was administered as a control using the aforementioned protocol.

 CLP model of sepsis in mice

Sepsis was established using a CLP procedure as described in a previous study (17). Following the induction of anesthesia in the mice via the intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg/kg pentobarbital sodium, the abdomen was disinfected and a midline abdominal incision was created. The cecum was then exposed, ligated below the ileocecal valve and punctured once using a 20-gauge needle. A small amount of fecal matter was gently squeezed out through the puncture site. Following this, the cecum was placed back into the peritoneal cavity, and the abdominal wall was then closed. In the sham group, the mice in the sham group underwent laparotomy and manipulation of the bowel, but ligation and perforation were not performed. Following both procedures, the mice were resuscitated using the standard normal saline procedure (50 ml/kg via subcutaneous injection). The mice were euthanized with a high dose of pentobarbital (100 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) at 24 h following CLP or sham surgery.

 Liver hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining

Liver tissue was harvested from the mice 24 h after CLP and fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde for 24 h (4˚C). The fixed tissues were then embedded in paraffin and sliced into 4-µm sections. The sections were stained with H&E. Hematoxylin was incubated with the samples for 5 min, eosin for 2 min. Both reactions were performed at 37˚C. The samples were observed under a light microscope (magnification x400). The histopathological changes were scored from 1 to 4 based on the following criteria, as previously reported (18): 1, congestion; 2, edema; 3, infiltration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and monocytes; 4 necrosis. The total score was calculated as the sum of the scores given for each criterion. The total score ranged from 0 to 10. The score in the sham group is usually 0.

 Liver injury assessment

To evaluate the liver injury in the mice following CLP, the levels of ALT and AST in the serum were measured using the respective assay kits according to the manufacturer's protocols.

 Assay of inflammatory cytokine levels

The TNF-α and IL-6 levels in the mouse serum 24 h after CLP were assessed using the respective ELISA kits according to the manufacturer's instructions.

 Assay of myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity

MPO activity in the liver tissues of the mice was measured using an MPO assay kit (Nanjing Jiancheng Bioengineering Institute) according to the associated instructions.

 Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR)

RT-qPCR for TNF-α, IL-6, Bax and Bcl-2 in the liver tissue was performed as previously reported (19). The RNA extraction buffer was TRIzol reagent (Invitrogen; Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.). The PrimeScriptTM RT Master Mix (Takara Bio, Inc.) was used. The RT reaction was incubated for 15 min at 37˚C and for 5 sec at 85˚C. The sequences of the primers used for qPCR were as follows: TNF-α forward, 5'-TGCTGGGAAGCCTAAAAGG-3' and reverse, 5'-CGAATTTTGAGAAGATGATCCTG-3'; IL-6 forward, 5'-TCAATTCCAGAAACCGCTATGA-3' and reverse, 5'-CACCAGCATCAGTCCCAAGA-3'; Bax forward, 5'-CAGGATGCGTCCACCAAGAA-3' and reverse, 5'-AGTAGAAGAGGGCAACCACG-3'; Bcl-2 forward, 5'-GAGTACCTGAACCGGCATCT-3' and reverse, 5'-GGTATGCACCCAGAGTGATG-3'; and β-actin forward, 5'-AGAGGGAAATCGTGCGTGAC-3' and reverse, 5'-CAATAGTGATGACCTGGCCGT-3'. Relative quantification of the target mRNA was calculated and normalized to β-actin. qPCR was performed using the 7500 Real-Time PCR system (Applied Biosystems; Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.) using SYBR Advantage qPCR Premix. The thermocycling conditions were as follows: Initial denaturation for 30 sec at 95˚C, followed by 40 cycles of 10 sec at 95˚C, and 30 sec at 60˚C. Relative mRNA expression was calculated using the 2-ΔΔCq method (20).

 Caspase-3 activity assay

Relative activity of caspase-3 in the liver tissues of the mice was detected using a caspase-3 colorimetric assay kit (Abcam; cat. no. ab39401) according to the manufacturer's protocol.

 Western blotting

Liver tissue was homogenized in RIPA lysis buffer (Beyotime Institute of Biotechnology) with protease inhibitor by sonication. The proteins were quantified using a bicinchoninic acid assay. Total lysate (40 µg protein/lane) was separated using 12% sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and the separated proteins were transferred to polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membranes. The PVDF membranes were then blocked with 5% non-fat milk prior to incubation with primary antibodies against SIRT1 (1:1,000), PGC-1α (1:500), Bcl-2 (1:1,000), Bax (1:1,000) and β-actin (1:1,000) overnight at 4˚C. The membranes were washed three times, 5 min each, then incubated with appropriate HRP-conjugated secondary antibodies (1:2,000; goat anti-rabbit; cat. no. ab7090; or goat-anti-mouse cat. no. ab97040; Abcam) at room temperature for 2 h. Protein bands were visualized using an ECL Western Blotting Detection reagent (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.). The protein bands were then detected and quantified using a Bio-Rad imaging system (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.).

 Statistical analysis

Data in the present study were analyzed using GraphPad Prism 5 software (GraphPad Software, Inc.). Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM. One-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni multiple comparisons test was used for intergroup comparisons. Fisher's exact test probability method was used to analyze the survival rate. P<0.05 was considered to indicate a statistically significant difference.

 Results <sec> <title>SalB treatment mitigates histopathological changes of the liver in septic mice

As shown in Fig. 1, no histological changes were evident in the sham group. In the CLP group, the liver exhibited severe destruction of the architecture, characterized by edema and necrosis, as well as neutrophil infiltration (Fig. 1A). The liver histopathological score of the CLP group was significantly elevated compared with that of the sham group. However, SalB treatment significantly attenuated the CLP-induced pathological changes (Fig. 1C). Following confirmation of the efficiency of SIRT1 siRNA transfection in the liver using western blotting (Fig. 1B), it was found that the protective effect of SalB was significantly reduced by SIRT1 siRNA in the CLP + SalB + SIRT1 siRNA group compared with the CLP + SalB + control siRNA group (Fig. 1C).

 SalB treatment lowers the serum levels of AST and ALT in septic mice

Significantly increased serum levels of AST and ALT were observed in the CLP group compared with the sham group, indicating that severe liver injury occurred in the CLP group. SalB treatment significantly decreased the serum levels of AST and ALT compared with those in the CLP group. However, co-treatment with SIRT1 siRNA significantly attenuated the protective effect of SalB (Fig. 2).

 SalB treatment decreases inflammatory cytokine production in septic mice

The serum levels of the inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6 were detected in order to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of SalB. The ELISA assay results (Fig. 3A and B) revealed that the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly increased in the CLP group compared with the sham group. However, SalB treatment significantly lowered these levels, and the attenuating effect of SalB was significantly reversed by co-treatment with SIRT1 siRNA. In addition, the RT-qPCR results shown in Fig. 3C and D revealed that the mice in the CLP group expressed significantly higher levels of IL-6 and TNF-α mRNA compared with those in the sham group, and the CLP-induced increases were significantly attenuated by SalB treatment. Co-treatment with SIRT1 siRNA significantly mitigated the protective effect of SalB.

 SalB treatment suppresses MPO activity in the liver tissues of septic mice

MPO is a marker of neutrophil infiltration (21). Therefore, MPO activity was detected in order to evaluate the effect of SalB on the infiltration of neutrophils into the liver in septic mice. As shown in Fig. 4, MPO activity was significantly increased in the CLP group compared with the sham group, and the CLP-induced elevation of MPO activity was significantly reduced by treatment with SalB. However, co-treatment of the SalB-treated CLP model mice with SIRT1 siRNA significantly increased MPO activity.

 Effect of SalB on apoptosis markers in the liver tissues of septic mice

To elucidate whether SalB has the potential to alleviate hepatocyte apoptosis after sepsis, the expression levels of Bax and Bcl-2 were detected using RT-qPCR and western blotting. The present results showed that the mRNA and protein expression levels of Bax markedly increased compared with the sham group, while the mRNA and protein expression levels of Bcl-2 significantly decreased. The results indicated that the mRNA and protein expression levels of Bax were significantly reduced in the CLP + SalB group compared with the CLP group, while the expression levels of Bcl-2 mRNA and protein were significantly increased in the CLP + SalB group compared with the CLP group (Fig. 5). However, co-treatment with SIRT1 siRNA significantly attenuated the SalB-induced changes in the mRNA and protein levels of Bax and Bcl-2.

 SalB treatment decreases caspase-3 activity in the liver tissues of septic mice

As shown in Fig. 6, caspase-3 activity was significantly increased in the CLP group compared with the sham group. However, the CLP-induced elevation of caspase-3 activity was significantly attenuated by treatment with SalB. Furthermore, co-treatment with SIRT1 siRNA significantly reversed the effect of SalB on caspase-3 activity.

 Role of SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling in the protective effects of SalB

To evaluate the possible mechanisms underlying the effects of SalB on CLP, the expression levels of SIRT1 and PGC-1α were detected using western blotting. CLP decreased the expression levels of SIRT1 and PGC-1α. As shown in Fig. 7, SalB increased the expression levels of SIRT1 and PGC-1α in the CLP + SalB group compared with the CLP group. However, SIRT1 siRNA abolished this effect and clearly reduced the expression levels of SIRT1 and PGC-1α in the CLP + SalB + SIRT1 siRNA group. These results suggest that SalB confers a protective effect via the activation of SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling.

 Discussion

In the current study, the aim was to investigate the effects of SalB on sepsis-induced liver injury. CLP is reported to be the gold standard model for use in sepsis research (22-24), and is now widely used in the study of sepsis in animals. The present study of CLP-induced sepsis revealed several notable findings. Treatment with SalB markedly mitigated sepsis-induced liver injury in the mice, as supported by attenuated pathological changes and lowered serum AST and ALT levels. SalB treatment also significantly inhibited inflammation, as indicated by its ability to lower the mRNA and protein levels of TNF-α and IL-6. Furthermore, SalB treatment significantly down-regulated Bax and upregulated Bcl-2, which suggests that it may have the ability to decrease sepsis-induced apoptosis. In addition, SalB may confer its protective effects via the activation of SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling.

Sepsis comprises two inflammatory phases, namely, the systemic inflammatory phase and the compensatory anti-inflammatory phase (25). The dysregulation of inflammation can lead to tissue and organ damage (17). In the present study, a CLP procedure was used to induce sepsis in mice. Sepsis led to severe pathological changes in the liver, which were characterized by edema and necrosis, as well as neutrophil infiltration. In addition, hepatocyte damage results in the release of AST and ALT (26). Consequently, the levels of AST and ALT in the serum were observed to be significantly elevated in the CLP group in the present study. However, pretreatment of the mice with SalB significantly decreased the serum levels of AST and ALT; this effect of SalB was abolished by the co-administration of SIRT1 siRNA. TNF-α and IL-6 are proinflammatory mediators and are regarded as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in septic patients (27). The results of the present study indicate that the mRNA and protein levels of TNF-α and IL-6 were increased significantly following the induction of sepsis. SalB pretreatment significantly decreased the CLP-induced levels of TNF-α and IL-6, an effect that was also abolished by SIRT1 siRNA. Furthermore, MPO activity was measured in the present study, since MPO is an indicator of neutrophil infiltration (28). The results suggest that SalB may decrease neutrophil infiltration following CLP-induced sepsis, and indicate that SalB protects against CLP-induced liver injury via the inhibition of the inflammatory response. Together, these results suggest that SalB treatment is able to ameliorate pathological changes of the liver and inflammatory reactions after sepsis induction, and that SIRT1 is potentially a critical molecule in the protective role of SalB.

Apoptosis is also associated with the pathogenesis of sepsis (29). Apoptosis is characterized by caspase activation and is independent of inflammatory effects (30). It has been indicated that the inhibition of apoptosis improves the survival rate and mitigates multiple-organ injury in septic mice (31). However, apoptosis can lead to the depletion of dendritic cells and lymphocytes after sepsis (32,33). The marked loss of dendritic cells in sepsis markedly impairs B- and T-cell function, and leads to immune suppression after sepsis. Furthermore, the loss of B and T cells will markedly aggravate immune suppression (34). In the present study, the results indicate that SalB treatment significantly decreased Bax expression and caspase-3 activity and increased Bcl-2 expression in septic mice. However, SIRT1 siRNA abolished these effects of SalB. This suggests that SalB may exhibit an anti-apoptotic effect in sepsis via SIRT1 activation. However, apoptosis was not directly measured in the present study, which is a limitation of the present study.

SIRT1, a histone deacetylase, has been shown to confer protective effects in sepsis (35). PGC-1α, a SIRT1 downstream target, serves a key role in mitochondrial biogenesis (36). PGC-1α-induced mitochondrial biogenesis is pivotal to the maintenance of energy and metabolic requirements (37). In the present study, the treatment of septic mice with SalB induced the activation of SIRT1/PGC-1 signaling. It may be hypothesized that this mechanism underlies the attenuating effect of SalB on the injury induced by sepsis. When SIRT1 was blocked, the effect of SalB on SIRT1/PGC-1 signaling was abolished, suggesting that SalB confers protection against sepsis at least partly through the activation of SIRT1/PGC-1 signaling.

In conclusion, SalB exerts a protective effect in septic mice by diminishing pathological injury and reducing serum AST and ALT levels, inflammation and hepatic apoptosis. The underlying mechanism may be associated with the activation of SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling. These findings suggest that SalB has the potential to be a therapeutic agent for the treatment of liver injury induced by sepsis.

 Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr Guangxin Liu (Department of General Surgery, The 175th Hospital of PLA, Zhangzhou, China) for his help in reviewing and editing the manuscript.

 Funding

This study was supported by grant from the Ministry of Health of Xi'an City (grant no. J201701010).

 Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the present study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

 Authors' contributions

HS performed experiments and revised the manuscript. ZM and AG performed experiments and analyzed the data. HW wrote the manuscript and designed the study. XY designed experiments. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

 Ethics approval and consent to participate

Not applicable.

 Patient consent for publication

Not applicable.

 Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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SalB mitigated hepatic tissue damage in a CLP model of sepsis. Liver tissues were harvested 24 h after CLP for histopathologic assessment. (A) Hematoxylin and eosin staining of liver tissues (original magnification 200). (B) Efficiency of siRNA transfection in the liver was assessed using western blotting. (C) Liver histopathological scores. Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM (n=6/group). *P<0.05 vs. sham group, #P<0.05 vs. CLP group, &P<0.05 vs. CLP + SalB + control siRNA group. SalB, salvianolic acid B; CLP, cecal ligation and puncture; siRNA, small interfering RNA; SIRT1, sirtuin 1.

SalB decreased serum ALT and AST levels in septic mice. (A) ALT and (B) AST levels in mouse serum. Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM (n=6/group). *P<0.05 vs. sham group, #P<0.05 vs. CLP group, &P<0.05 vs. CLP + SalB + control siRNA group. SalB, salvianolic acid B; CLP, cecal ligation and puncture; siRNA, small interfering RNA; SIRT1, sirtuin 1.

SalB attenuated inflammatory cytokine production after sepsis. (A) Serum levels of IL-6 and (B) TNF-α. (C) Hepatic IL-6 and (D) TNF-α mRNA expression levels. Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM (n=6/group). *P<0.05 vs. sham group, #P<0.05 vs. CLP group, &P<0.05 vs. CLP + SalB + control siRNA group. SalB, salvianolic acid B; CLP, cecal ligation and puncture; siRNA, small interfering RNA; SIRT1, sirtuin 1; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor α; IL-6, interleukin 6.

Effect of SalB on MPO activity in septic mice. Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM (n=6/group). *P<0.05 vs. sham group, #P<0.05 vs. CLP group, &P<0.05 vs. CLP + SalB + control siRNA group. SalB, salvianolic acid B; CLP, cecal ligation and puncture; siRNA, small interfering RNA; SIRT1, sirtuin 1; MPO, myeloperoxidase.

Effect of SalB on Bax and Bcl-2 expression levels in septic mice. (A) Bax mRNA level. (B) Bcl-2 mRNA level. (C) Expression levels of Bax and Bcl-2 detected using western blotting. Quantification of (D) Bax/β-actin and (E) Bcl-2/β-actin. Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM (n=6/group). *P<0.05 vs. sham group, #P<0.05 vs. CLP group, &P<0.05 vs. CLP + SalB + control siRNA group. SalB, salvianolic acid B; CLP, cecal ligation and puncture; siRNA, small interfering RNA; SIRT1, sirtuin 1.

Effect of SalB on caspase-3 activity in septic mice. Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM (n=6/group). *P<0.05 vs. sham group, #P<0.05 vs. CLP group, &P<0.05 vs. CLP + SalB + control siRNA group. SalB, salvianolic acid B; CLP, cecal ligation and puncture; siRNA, small interfering RNA; SIRT1, sirtuin 1.

Role of SIRT1 and PGC-1α in the protective effects of SalB. (A) Expression levels of SIRT1 and PGC-1α detected using western blotting. Quantification of (B) SIRT1/β-actin and (C) PGC-1α/β-actin. Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM (n=6/group). *P<0.05 vs. sham group, #P<0.05 vs. CLP group, &P<0.05 vs. CLP + SalB + control siRNA group. SalB, salvianolic acid B; CLP, cecal ligation and puncture; siRNA, small interfering RNA; SIRT1, sirtuin 1; PGC-1α, activate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ co-activator 1α.