Expression of p53 in the Effects of Artesunate on Induction of Apoptosis and Inhibition of Proliferation in Rat Primary

Background: Activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) plays an important role in the development of cirrhosis through the increased production of collagen. p53, the ‘‘guardian of the genome’’, is a transcription factor that can bind to promoter regions of hundreds of genes where it either activates or suppresses gene expression. Thereby, p53 serves as a tumor suppressor by inducing cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, senescence and DNA repair. Artesunate is a derivative of Artemisinin, Scholars had found it had more extensive pharmacological effects past 10 years. However, little is known about the expression of p53 in the effects of Artesunate on induction of apoptosis and inhibition of proliferation in rat HSCs. Methodology/Principal Findings: Isolated and cultured rat primary HSCs in the flask for 10 days to make cells activated. HSCs were divided into two groups: experimental groups and control groups, experimental groups included with variou