Abstract: Objective To investigate the protective effect of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell （UCMSC） transplantation on alcoholic liver injury in rats. Methods 40 healthy SD rats were randomly divided into control （group A）,model （group B）,UCMSC transplantation （group C） and UCMSC as well as glycyrrhizic acid（group D） intervention. Serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase（AST）,alanine aminotransferase （ALT）,malondialdehyde （MDA）,superoxide dismutase （SOD） and glutathione peroxidase （GPx） were measured and liver tissue cytochrome P450（CYP2B1） mRNA was detected by RT-PCR. Results Serum AST,ALT and MDA levels in the model were （210.6±26.0） U/L,（111.2±13.7） U/L and （1.6±0.1） μmo/L,significantly higher than 【（85.5±12.7） U/L,（30.8±4.5） U/L and（0.6±0.1） μmo/L,respectively,P<0.05】 in the control,while serum levels of SOD and GPx were （141.3±6.9） U/L and （336.5±26.1） U/L,significantly lower than 【（225.7±16.4） U/L and （912.3±29.5） U/L,P<0.05】 in the control;the liver injuries reflected by serum parameter changes improved in rats with UCMSCs transplantation or UCMSCs and glycyrrhizic acid intervention;the CYP2B1 mRNA level in liver tissues in model decreased obviously as compared to that in the control,while they intensified heavily in liver tissues in rats with cell transplantation or in rats with cell and glycyrrhizic acid intervention（P<0.05）. Conclusion Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell transplantation might protect alcoholic liver injury in rats to a certain extent,and the combination of glycyrrhizic acid with cell transplantation might improve the protective effect.

Key words: Alcoholic liver injury, Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells, Transplantation, Glycyrrhizic acid, Rats