Protective Effects of p-CA Against Acute Liver Damage Induced by LPS/D-GalN in Wistar Albino Rats

A combination of generated hydrogen sulfide and nitric oxide activity has a potentiated protectant effect against cisplatin induced nephrotoxicity

Aim

Hydrogen sulfide and nitric oxide possess cytoprotective activity and in vivo, they are generated from exogenous sodium hydrosulfide and L-arginine respectively. Cisplatin is a major chemotherapeutic agent used to treat cancer and has a high incidence of nephrotoxicity as a side effect. The study aim was to explore the effects of NaHS and L-arginine or their combination on cisplatin induced nephrotoxicity in rats.

Methods

Wistar Kyoto rats were given a single intraperitoneal dose of cisplatin (5 mg/kg) followed either by NaHS (56 μmol/kg, i. p.), L-arginine (1.25 g/L in drinking water) or their combination daily for 28-days. Post-mortem plasma, urine and kidney samples were collected for biochemical assays and histopathological analysis.

Results

Cisplatin decreased body weights and increased urinary output, while plasma creatinine and urea levels were elevated, but sodium and potassium concentrations were diminished. The renal function parameters, blood urea nitrogen and creatinine clearance, were raised and decreased respectively. Regarding markers of reactive oxygen species, plasma total superoxide dismutase was reduced, whereas malondiadehyde was augmented.Cisplatin also diminished plasma and urinary H2S as well as plasma NO, while NaHS and L-arginine counteracted this activity on both redox-active molecules. Cisplatin cotreatment with NaHS, and/or L-arginine exhibited a reversal of all other measured parameters.

Conclusion

In current study, NaHS and L-arginine as monotherapy protected the rats from cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity but the combination of both worked more effectively suggesting the augmented anti-inflammatory and antioxidative potential of test treatments when administered together.

Wearable bioadhesive ultrasound shear wave elastography

Acute liver failure (ALF) is a critical medical condition defined as the rapid development of hepatic dysfunction. Conventional ultrasound elastography cannot continuously monitor liver stiffness over the course of rapidly changing diseases for early detection due to the requirement of a handheld probe. In this study, we introduce wearable bioadhesive ultrasound elastography (BAUS-E), which can generate acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) to induce shear waves for the continuous monitoring of modulus changes. BAUS-E contains 128 channels with a compact design with only 24 mm in the azimuth direction for comfortable wearability. We further used BAUS-E to continuously monitor the stiffness of in vivo rat livers with ALF induced by d-galactosamine over 48 hours, and the stiffness change was observed within the first 6 hours. BAUS-E holds promise for clinical applications, particularly in patients after organ transplantation or postoperative care in the intensive care unit (ICU).