Anti-fibrotic activity of gold and platinum complexes - Au(I) compounds as a new class of anti-fibrotic agents.

Molecular gold(I) and platinum(II) species were examined for the inhibition of liver fibrosis and the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Determination of inhibition efficiency was conducted via morphological analysis, cell viability, western blot analysis, and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Auranofin and Ph3PAuCl demonstrated the greatest inhibition of liver fibrosis amongst the tested gold species in human hepatic stellate LX-2 cells. Western blot analysis indicated that auranofin and Ph3PAuCl prevent signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) phosphorylation, which may be a key connection to fibrosis and inflammation. Auranofin and Ph3PAuCl also reduced expression of HCV-nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) and HCV-NS5a proteins in a HCV subgenomic replicon system. These results demonstrate significant promise for the use of gold compounds in treating liver diseases such as HCV.