Protective effects of taurine against endotoxin-induced acute liver injury after hepatic ischemia reperfusion

Abstract

Hepatic ischemia reperfusion (HIR) not only results in liver injury, but also leads to endotoxemia, which aggravates HIR-induced liver injury and dysfunction, or even causes liver failure. Taurine has been shown to protect organs from ischemia reperfusion or endotoxin by its anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The aim of this study was to investigate whether taurine could attenuate endotoxin-induced acute liver injury after HIR. Wistar rats subjected to 30 min of hepatic ischemia followed by reperfusion and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (0.5 mg/kg) administration, exhibited liver dysfunction (elevated serum levels of ALT, AST and LDH) and hepatic histopathological alteration. The serum levels of TNF-alpha and production of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in liver tissues and apoptosis of hepatocytes were also increased after the combination of HIR and LPS. However, pre-administration of taurine protected livers from injury induced by the combination of HIR + LPS as the histological score, apoptotic index, MPO activity and production of MDA in liver tissues, and serum levels of AST, ALT, LDH and TNF-alpha, were significantly reduced. The expression of caspase-3, Fas and Fas ligand was upregulated in homogenates of livers from rats subjected to HIR and LPS, and this elevated expression could be inhibited by taurine. In summary, the results further emphasize the potential utilization of taurine in protecting livers against endotoxin-induced injury especially after HIR, by its anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and anti-apoptotic activities.

Galangin Alleviates Liver Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in a Rat Model by Mediating the PI3K/AKT Pathway

“…The study was approved by the Experimental Animal Ethics Committee of Harbin Medical University. Hepatic ischemia was induced as previously described [18]. Briefly, Wistar rats were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital combined with methoxyflurane (inhalation) anesthesia, and a midline laparotomy was performed to isolate and clamp the portal vein, hepatic arterial, and hepatic duct.…”

MicroRNA-21-Regulated Activation of the Akt Pathway Participates in the Protective Effects of H₂S against Liver Ischemia–Reperfusion Injury

“…[9][10][11]18) Briefly, rats underwent a midline laparotomy under general anesthesia by continuous isoflurane inhalation. The portal triad was isolated and clamped, and then the abdominal cavity was temporally closed with metal clips.…”

Matrine attenuates endotoxin-induced acute liver injury after hepatic ischemia/reperfusion in rats

“…The liver histopathological scoring analysis was performed in a blinded fashion according to previously described methods. 20,22,23 The assessment was expressed as the sum of the individual score grades from 0 (no fi ndings), 1 (mild), 2 (moderate), to 3 (severe) for each of the following six parameters: cytoplasmic color fading, vacuolization, nuclear condensation, nuclear fragmentation, nuclear fading, and erythrocyte stasis.…”

“…Then the rats underwent the same procedure of HIR and LPS administration as described previously. [20][21][22] In brief, hepatic ischemia was induced by occluding the portal vein and hepatic artery with a vascular clamp. Reperfusion was initiated by removal of the clamp 30 min later, and the abdominal wall was sutured by layers.…”

“…20,22,24 The serum levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-6, and sICAM-1 were measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits (Wuhan Boster Biological Technology, Wuhan, China) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The serum level of nitric oxide (NO) was measured by determining the nitrate reductase activity with an NO detection kit (Nanjing Science and Technology, Nanjing, China) according to the manufacturer's manual.…”