Intrahepatic triglyceride measurement and estimation of viability in rat fatty livers by near-infrared spectroscopy

Protective effect of Danhong Injection combined with Naoxintong Capsule on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Danhong Injection (DHI) and Naoxintong Capsule (NXT) are renowned traditional Chinese medicine in China. The drug combination of DHI and NXT is frequently applied for the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in clinic. However, there had been no pharmacological experiment studies of interaction between DHI and NXT. Due to the drug interactions, exploring their interaction profile is of great importance.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

In this study, focal cerebral I/R injury in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were induced by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) for 1h followed by reperfusion. Rats were divided into 5 groups: sham group, ischemia reperfusion untreated group (IRU), DHI group (DHI 10mL/kg/d), NXT group (NXT 0.5g/kg/d), DHI plus NXT group (DHI-NXT, DHI 10mL/kg/d plus NXT 0.5g/kg/d). All drug-treated groups were respectively successive administrated for 7 days after ischemia/ reperfusion (I/R) injury. The effects on rat neurological function were estimated by neurological defect scores. Brain infarct volumes were determined based on 2, 3, 5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. Pathological changes in brain tissues were observed using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Levels of nitric oxide (NO), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in serum were determined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Immunohisto-chemistry and Western blot were used to detect the expressions of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), von Willebrand factor-microvessel vascular density (vWF-MVD), vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), angiogenin-1 (Ang-1), angiogenin-2 (Ang-2) and platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) at day 7 after ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury.

RESULTS

Compared with IRU group and mono-therapy group (DHI group or NXT group), Danhong Injection combined with Naoxintong Capsule (DHI-NXT) group significantly ameliorated neurological deficits scores, infarct volume and pathological change, significantly decreased the overexpression of NO and the level of Ang-1, significantly increased the expressions of VEGF, Ang-2, G-CSF, GM-CSF, bFGF, PDGF, vWF, TGF-β1.

CONCLUSION

The protective benefits on rat brain against I/R injury were clearly produced when DHI and NXT were used in combination, which provided rational guidance for clinical combined application of DHI and NXT, and this protection maybe associated with the up-regulation expressions of the related chemokines and growth factors of angiogenesis.

Fatty liver oxidative events monitored by autofluorescence optical diagnosis: Comparison between subnormothermic machine perfusion and conventional cold storage preservation

AIMS

Livers with moderate steatosis are currently recruited as marginal organs to face donor shortage in transplantation, even though lipid excess and oxidative stress increase preservation injury risk. Sensitive, real-time detection of liver metabolism engagement could help donor selection and preservation procedures, ameliorating the graft outcome. Hence, we investigated endogenous biomolecules with autofluorescence (AF) properties as biomarkers supporting the detection of liver oxidative events and the assessment of metabolic responses to external stimuli.

METHODS

Livers from male Wistar rats fed a 12-day methionine/choline-deficient (MCD) diet were subjected to AF spectrofluorometric analysis (fiber-optic probe, 366-nm excitation) before and after organ isolation, and following preservation (cold storage or 20°C machine perfusion) and reperfusion.

RESULTS

Innovative dynamic AF results on lipid oxidation to lipofuscin-like lipopigments, correlating with biochemical oxidative damage (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) and antioxidant defense (glutathione) parameters, suggested lipid engagement in MCD livers counteracting reactive oxidizing species. The maintained MCD liver functionality was supported by limited changes in bilirubin AF spectral profile, reflecting bile composition balance, despite their intrinsic mitochondrial weakness, confirmed by adenosine 5'-triphosphate levels, and regardless of different preservation effects on energy metabolism revealed by conventional reduced forms of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate and flavin AF data.

CONCLUSION

Autofluorescence showed that, after a relatively short time on an MCD diet, livers are still able to face oxidizing events and maintain a functional balance. These results strengthen AF as a supportive diagnostic tool in experimental hepatology, to characterize marginal livers in real time, monitor their response to ischemia/reperfusion, and investigate protective therapeutic agents.

From near-infrared and Raman to surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy: progress, limitations and perspectives in bioanalysis

Over recent decades, spreading environmental concern entailed the expansion of green chemistry analytical tools. Vibrational spectroscopy, belonging to this class of analytical tool, is particularly interesting taking into account its numerous advantages such as fast data acquisition and no sample preparation. In this context, near-infrared, Raman and mainly surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) have thus gained interest in many fields including bioanalysis. The two former techniques only ensure the analysis of concentrated compounds in simple matrices, whereas the emergence of SERS improved the performances of vibrational spectroscopy to very sensitive and selective analyses. Complex SERS substrates were also developed enabling biomarker measurements, paving the way for SERS immunoassays. Therefore, in this paper, the strengths and weaknesses of these techniques will be highlighted with a focus on recent progress.

In vivo assessment of diet-induced rat hepatic steatosis development by percutaneous single-fiber spectroscopy detects scattering spectral changes due to fatty infiltration

This study explores percutaneous single-fiber spectroscopy (SfS) of rat livers undergoing fatty infiltration. Eight test rats were fed a methionine-choline-deficient (MCD) diet, and four control rats were fed a normal diet. Two test rats and one control rat were euthanized on days 12, 28, 49, and 77 following initiation of the diet, after percutaneous SfS of the liver under transabdominal ultrasound guidance. Histology of each set of the two euthanized test rats showed mild and mild hepatic lipid accumulations on day 12, moderate and severe on day 28, severe and mild on day 49, and moderate and mild on day 77. Livers with moderate or higher lipid accumulation generally presented higher spectral reflectance intensity when compared to lean livers. Livers of the eight test rats on day 12, two of which had mild lipid accumulation, revealed an average scattering power of 0.37±0.14 in comparison to 0.07±0.14 for the four control rats (p<0.01 ). When livers of the test rats with various levels of fatty infiltration were combined, the average scattering power was 0.36±0.15 0.36±0.15 in comparison to 0.14±0.24 of the control rats (0.05<p<0.1). Increasing lipid accumulation in concentration and size seemed to cause an increase of the scattering power prior to increasing total spectral reflectance.