J Korean Med Sci.  2002 Aug;17(4):502-506. 10.3346/jkms.2002.17.4.502.

The Effects of Antioxidants and Nitric Oxide Modulators on Hepatic Ischemic-Reperfusion Injury in Rats

• Rhee JE
• Jung SE
• Shin SD
• Suh GJ
• Noh DY
• Youn YK
• Oh SK
• Choe KJ

• KMID: 1109759
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2002.17.4.502

Abstract

Ischemic-reperfusion injury (IRI) is thought to be caused by oxygen radicals. Nitric oxide (NO) also has been thought to play a key role in IRI. This experiment was designed to evaluate the effects of antioxidants and NO supplement on hepatic IRI. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups: a sham operation group, a group with IRI, and three groups with vitamin C combined with vitamin E (VC&VE), L-arginine and N(G)-nitro-L-arginine (NNLA) injected after IRI. IRI was induced by clamping of the porta hepatis for 30 minutes and then by declamping. To prevent mesenteric blood congestion, a porto-systemic shunt had been made four weeks before the portal clamping. Biochemical assays of TNF-alpha level and NO2- level in the blood, malondialdehyde level, catalase activity and NO synthase activity in the liver tissue were performed. The results were as follows: IRI increased the malondialdehyde level and exhausted the catalase activity remarkably. VC&VE lowered the malondialdehyde levels and protected against catalase exhaustion, but had no significant effect on the NO production. L-arginine had a definite antioxidant effect, which was much weaker than that of VC&VE. In conclusion, antioxidants and a supplement of NO protected the liver tissue against IRI.

Keyword

Reperfusion Injury; Nitric Oxide; Antioxidants; Tumor Necrosis Factor; Ascorbic Acid

MeSH Terms

Animals
Antioxidants/*metabolism
Arginine/metabolism
Ascorbic Acid/metabolism
Catalase/metabolism
Enzyme Inhibitors/metabolism
Liver/*metabolism/pathology
Male
Malondialdehyde/metabolism
Nitric Oxide/*metabolism
Nitric Oxide Synthase/metabolism
Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II
Nitrites/blood
Nitroarginine/metabolism
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Reperfusion Injury/*metabolism
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism
Vitamin E/metabolism