Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the effects of heparin on liver fibrosis. Methods: Rats had liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride. The cirrhotic rats were subjected to different dosages of heparin. All the rats were killed after eight weeks and the serum levels of hyaluronate, collagen type Ⅳ, laminin， precollagen type Ⅲ and TG-β₁ were determined. HE and a reticular fiber staining were used, and the expression of TGF-β₁ in liver tissues was measured by an immunohistochemistry. The collagen deposit at Disse space was observed with a scanning electron microscope. Results: The serum indexes of heparin preventive treatment group and two heparin treatment groups produced many significant differences in the cirrhotic rats. The result of collagen staining showed that heparin significantly inhibited fibrosis in rats. The serum concentrations of TGF-β₁ in heparin groups were decreased significantly. The collagen in Disse space was less in heparin groups observed with a scanning electron microscope. Conclusion: Heparin has anti-fibrosis effects owing to the decrease of TGF-β₁ level.

Key words: Liver, Fibrosis, Heparin, Transforming growth factor-β₁, Rats, Wistar