Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are the best-known endogenous factors that protect against cell injury under various pathological conditions and that can be induced by various physical, chemical, and biological stressors. New research seeks to discover a compound that is clinically safe and can induce the accumulation of HSPs in patients. This paper reports that the oral administration of three doses of bicyclol, a novel antihepatitis drug, induced hepatic HSP27 and HSP70 expression in a time- and dose-dependent manner, and that bicyclol treatment stimulated heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) activation in mice. The inducing effects of bicyclol on HSP27, HSP70 and HSF1 were all blocked by quercetin, an inhibitor of HSP biosynthesis. The cytoprotective effect of HSP27/70 induced by bicyclol against hepatotoxicity of acetaminophen (AP) was assessed in mice. The prior administration of bicyclol markedly suppressed AP-induced liver injury as indicated by the reduction in the elevation of serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, in liver necrosis, in the release of cytochrome c and apoptosis-inducing factor from mitochondria, as well as in hepatic deoxyribonucleic acid fragmentation in mice. However, all the above actions of bicyclol against AP-induced mouse liver injuries were significantly attenuated by quercetin. This is the first report to show that bicyclol induces hepatic HSP27/70 expression via activation of HSF1 and that the cytoprotective action of bicyclol against liver injury is mediated by its induction of HSP27/70. These results provide new evidence for elucidating the mechanism of the hepatoprotective action of bicyclol in animals and patients.
