Dietary α-Mangostin Provides Protective Effects against Acetaminophen-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Mice via Akt/mTOR-Mediated Inhibition of Autophagy and Apoptosis

Acetaminophen overdose-induced hepatotoxicity is the most common cause of acute liver failure in many countries. Previously, alpha-mangostin (alpha-MG) has been confirmed to exert protective effects on a variety of liver injuries, but the protective effect on acetaminophen-induced acute liver injury (ALI) remains largely unknown. This work investigated the regulatory effect and underlying cellular mechanisms of alpha-MG action to attenuate acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity in mice. The increased serum aminotransferase levels and glutathione (GSH) content and reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) demonstrated the protective effect of -MG against acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity. In addition, -MG pretreatment inhibited increases in tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-beta (IL-1 beta) caused by exposure of mice to acetaminophen. In liver tissues, alpha-MG inhibited the protein expression of autophagy-related microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) and BCL2/adenovirus E1B protein-interacting protein 3 (BNIP3). Western blotting analysis of liver tissues also proved evidence that -MG partially inhibited the activation of apoptotic signaling pathways via increasing the expression of Bcl-2 and decreasing Bax and cleaved caspase 3 proteins. In addition, -MG could in part downregulate the increase in p62 level and upregulate the decrease in p-mTOR, p-AKT and LC3 II /LC3 I ratio in autophagy signaling pathways in the mouse liver. Taken together, our findings proved novel perspectives that detoxification effect of alpha-MG on acetaminophen-induced ALI might be due to the alterations in Akt/mTOR pathway in the liver.