Resistance of Erythrocytes to Lipid Peroxidation in Cirrhotic Rats

Therapeutic activity of sour orange albedo extract and abundant flavanones loaded silica nanoparticles against acrylamide-induced hepatotoxicity

The current research aims to demonstrate the therapeutic effect of sour orange albedo extract (SOAE) and two flavanones loaded-tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) using sol-gel technique, in adose100 mg/kg body weight taken orally or45 days against acrylamide (ACR)toxicity in rats. This was achieved through measuring the activities of specific biochemical parameters related to liver functions in tissue of ACR intoxicated rats as compared to normal one. Liver functions included alanine and aspartate aminotransferases, antioxidants and oxidative stress biomarkers; superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione and lipid peroxide (malondialdehyde, MDA). Moreover, histological examination of liver was performed to confirm the biochemical findings. The present results clearly indicated disturbances in all biochemical parameters, such as increase in the liver function enzyme activities and MDA level. Results of ATPase enzyme activities revealed significant decrease in ACR intoxicated rats and liver biomarker enzymes declared significant decrease. On the other hand, treatment of intoxicated rats with the previous different nano-particles natural product demonstrated improvement in all biochemical parameters under investigation.

Biological significance of a thyroid hormone-regulated secretome

The thyroid hormone, 3,3,5-triiodo-L-thyronine (T3), modulates several physiological processes, including cellular growth, differentiation, metabolism and proliferation, via interactions with thyroid hormone response elements (TREs) in the regulatory regions of target genes. Several intracellular and extracellular protein candidates are regulated by T3. Moreover, T3-regulated secreted proteins participate in physiological processes or cellular transformation. T3 has been employed as a marker in several disorders, such as cardiovascular disorder in chronic kidney disease, as well as diseases of the liver, immune system, endocrine hormone metabolism and coronary artery. Our group subsequently showed that T3 regulates several tumor-related secretory proteins, leading to cancer progression via alterations in extracellular matrix proteases and tumor-associated signaling pathways in hepatocellular carcinomas. Therefore, elucidation of T3/thyroid hormone receptor-regulated secretory proteins and their underlying mechanisms in cancers should facilitate the identification of novel therapeutic targets. This review provides a detailed summary on the known secretory proteins regulated by T3 and their physiological significance. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: An Updated Secretome.

Nilotinib counteracts thioacetamide-induced hepatic oxidative stress and attenuates liver fibrosis progression

The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the effects of imatinib and nilotinib to that of silymarin on established liver fibrosis and oxidative stress in a thioacetamide (TAA) rat model. Male Wistar rats received intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of TAA (150mg/kg, twice weekly) for 12weeks. Daily treatments with imatinib (10mg/kg), nilotinib (10mg/kg), and silymarin (100mg/kg) were administered orally during the last 4weeks of TAA-administration. At the end of the study, hepatic damage was evaluated by analysis of liver function tests in serum. Hepatic histopathology and collagen content were employed to quantify liver fibrosis. Hepatic oxidative stress was assessed by measuring malondialdehyde (MDA), 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), total nitrate/nitrite (NOx), and reduced glutathione (GSH) contents, as well as myeloperoxidase (MPO) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities. Nilotinib, silymarin and, to a lesser extent, imatinib treatments ameliorated TAA-induced hepatic oxidative stress and damage as indicated by hepatic MDA, 4-HNE, NOx, GSH, MPO and SOD levels, as well as liver function tests. Hepatic histopathology results revealed that nilotinib, imatinib, and silymarin treatments decreased the mean score of fibrosis in TAA-treated rats by 24, 14, and 3%, respectively. However, nilotinib and silymarin, but not imatinib, treatments decreased hepatic collagen content in TAA-treated rats by 17 and 36%, respectively. In conclusion, we demonstrated for the first time that nilotinib not only protected against hepatic oxidative stress, but also slowed down liver fibrosis progression. Thus, we provide the first evidence that nilotinib might be a promising anti-fibrotic drug.

Oxidative stress and thyroid hormones in patients with liver diseases

BACKGROUND

The liver metabolizes the thyroid hormones and regulates their systemic endocrine effects so liver disease could affect thyroid hormone metabolism. Oxidative stress could play a role in the pathogenesis and progression of liver diseases. The objective of this study was to investigate serum levels of oxidative stress and antioxidant in liver diseases as prognostic markers and know the importance of these antioxidants level in relation to thyroid hormones.

METHODS

Serum nitric oxide (NO), malondialdehyde (MDA) and triiodothyronine (T(3)), thyroxine (T(4)), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), apolipoprotein-1 (APOA1) levels and erythrocyte reduced glutathione (GSH) level and glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) and glutathione reductase (GR) activities were determined in 20 control subjects, 13 patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), 18 patients with chronic HCV, 17 patients with compensated cirrhotic HCV and 42 patients with decompensated cirrhotic HCV.

RESULTS

Cirrhotic patients with HCV had higher NO and MDA levels while lower T(3) and erythrocyte GSH levels, and GSHPx activity than the chronic. Serum T(3) showed negative correlation with serum NO and MDA whereas positive correlation with APOA1, GSH, and GSHPx in cirrhotic patients with HCV.

CONCLUSION

The measurement of the total T(3), NO, MDA, GSH reduced and GSHPx as biomarkers for liver diseases might be a beneficial tool, helping in monitoring the state of liver disease patients.

Circulating oxidative stress status in desert sheep naturally infected with Fasciola hepatica

Oxidative stress is a general mechanism whereby free radicals induce oxidative damages and reduce the antioxidant defences of the biological systems. The aim of the present study was to determine plasma malondialdehyde levels as a biomarker of lipid peroxidation and its relation to the antioxidants status (plasma ascorbate and blood glutathione concentrations), liver function tests and anaemia in spontaneous ovine fascioliasis. For this purpose, jugular blood samples and livers of 27 infected ewes with Fasciola hepatica along with blood samples of 20 healthy (control) ewes were collected from animals slaughtered in a F. hepatica endemic area (Kharga oasis, Egypt). An increase (P<0.001) in plasma malondialdehyde (141.1%) accompanied by decreased levels (P<0.001) of albumin (29.3%) and ascorbate (36.2%) in plasma and glutathione in blood (31.6%) of infected sheep was noticed when compared with control values. In the infected group, malondialdehyde values were positively correlated with liver fluke burden (r=0.57, P=0.002) and the activity of plasma aspartate aminotransferase (r=0.39, P=0.0.046) and gamma-glutamyltransferase (r=0.64, P=0.0003) and negatively correlated with the concentrations of albumin (r=-0.53, P=0.004), ascorbate (r=-0.46, P=0.0.17) and glutathione (r=-0.41, P=0.034). In conclusion, oxidative stress is a significant feature of chronic F. hepatica infection in grazing sheep.