Role of phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase signaling pathway in <scp>radiation‐induced</scp> liver injury

The study explored the role of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in radiation-induced liver injury, particularly focusing on hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation. Using 48 male Sprague-Dawley rats and rat liver HSC-T6 cells, it was found that X-ray irradiation activated the PI3K/Akt pathway, leading to HSC activation and apoptosis, with TGF-β1 playing a significant role. The study demonstrated that inhibiting this pathway with LY294002 reduced HSC activation, suggesting that targeting the PI3K/Akt pathway could be a potential strategy for preventing and treating radiation-induced liver injury. The research highlighted the complex relationship between TGF-β1 levels and HSC activation, noting that while TGF-β1 levels were higher at 20 Gy, α-SMA and Akt mRNA levels were unexpectedly higher at 10 Gy.