Rasineni K, Lee SML, McVicker BL, Osna NA, Casey CA, Kharbanda KK. Susceptibility of Asialoglycoprotein Receptor-Deficient Mice to Lps/Galactosamine Liver Injury and Protection by Betaine Administration.
BIOLOGY 2020;
10:biology10010019. [PMID:
33396223 PMCID:
PMC7823640 DOI:
10.3390/biology10010019]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/27/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] [Imported: 08/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Work from our laboratory has shown that the ethanol-induced increase in apoptotic hepatocellular death is closely related to the impairment in the ability of the asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGP-R) to remove neighboring apoptotic cells. In this study, we assessed the role of ASGP-R in fulminant liver failure and investigated whether prior treatment with betaine (a naturally occurring tertiary amine) is protective.
METHODS
Lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 50 μg/kg BW) and galactosamine (GalN; 350 mg/kg BW) were injected together to wild-type and ASGP-R-deficient mice that were treated for two weeks prior with or without 2% betaine in drinking water. The mice were sacrificed 1.5, 3, or 4.5 h post-injection, and tissue samples were collected.
RESULTS
LPS/GalN injection generate distinct molecular processes, which includes increased production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), thus causing apoptosis as evident by increased caspase-3 activity. ASGP-R deficient animals showed increased liver caspase activities, serum TNF-α and IL-6 levels, as well as more pronounced liver damage compared with the wild-type control animals after intraperitoneal injection of LPS/GalN. In addition, prior administration of betaine was found to significantly attenuate the LPS/GalN-induced increases in liver injury parameters.
CONCLUSION
Our work underscores the importance of normal functioning of ASGP-R in preventing severe liver damage and signifies a therapeutic role of betaine in prevention of liver injuries from toxin-induced fulminant liver failure.
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