Low-power laser irradiation fails to improve liver regeneration in elderly rats at 48 h after 70 % resection.

The liver regeneration is an important clinical issue after major hepatectomies. Unfortunately, many organs (including the liver) exhibit age-related impairments regarding their regenerative capacity. Recent studies found that low-power laser irradiation (LPLI) has a stimulatory effect on the liver regeneration process. However, its effects in elderly remain unknown. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the main molecular mechanisms involved in liver regeneration of partially hepatectomized elderly rats exposed to LPLI. The effects of 15 min of LPLI (wavelength of 632.8 nm; fluence of 0.97 J/cm(2); total energy delivered of 3.6 J) were evaluated in hepatectomized elderly Wistar male rats. Afterwards, through immunoblotting approaches, the protein expression and phosphorylation levels of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), Met, Akt and Erk 1/2 signaling pathways as well as the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) were investigated. It was observed that LPLI was not able to improve liver regeneration in elderly rats as evidenced by the lack of improvement of HGF and PCNA protein expression or phosphorylation levels of Met, Akt and Erk 1/2 in the remnant livers. In sum, this study demonstrated that the main molecular pathway, i.e. HGF/Met → Akt and Erk 1/2 → PCNA, involved in the hepatic regeneration process was not improved by LPLI in elderly hepatectomized rats, which in turn rules out LPLI as an adjuvant therapy, as observed in this protocol of liver regeneration evaluation (i.e. at 48 h after 70 % resection), in elderly.

Liver regeneration following partial hepatectomy is improved by enhancing the HGF/Met axis and Akt and Erk pathways after low-power laser irradiation in rats.

A simple, easy, and safe procedure aiming to improve liver regeneration could be of great clinical benefit in critical situations such as major hepatectomy, trauma, or hemorrhage. Low-power laser irradiation (LPLI) has come into a wide range of use in clinical practice by inducing regeneration in healthy and injured tissues. However, the effect of LPLI on the process of liver regeneration, especially those related to the molecular mechanisms, is not fully understood. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the main molecular mechanisms involved in liver regeneration of partially hepatectomized rats exposed to LPLI. We used Wistar male rats, which had their remaining liver irradiated or not with LPLI (wavelength of 632.8 nm and fluence of 65 mW/cm(2)) for 15 min after a 70% hepatectomy. We subsequently investigated hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), Met, Akt, and Erk 1/2 signaling pathways through protein expression and phosphorylation analyses along with cell proliferation (proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Ki-67) using immunoblotting and histological studies. Our results show that LPLI can improve liver regeneration as shown by increased HGF protein expression and the phosphorylation levels of Met, Akt, and Erk 1/2 accompanied by higher levels of the PCNA and Ki-67 protein in the remnant livers. In summary, our results suggest that LPLI may play a clinical role as a simple, fast, and easy-to-perform strategy in order to enhance the liver regenerative capacity of a small liver remnant after hepatectomy.

Effects of intracerebroventricular insulin microinjection on renal sodium handling in kidney-denervated rats.

The role of the central nervous system (CNS) in the control of hydrosaline homeostasis has been strikingly demonstrated by several studies. Growing evidence suggests that insulin may exert an influence in the modulation of many brain functions. However, there are no available data examining the CNS effect of insulin injection on renal sodium handling. Also, to examine the influence of renal nerve activity during i.c.v. administration of insulin, unanesthetized, unrestrained rats were randomly assigned to one of nine separated groups: (a) sham-operated i.c.v. 0.15 M NaCl-injected (Co, pooled data, n = 37) and sham-operated i.c.v. 0.42 ng. microl(-1) (n = 12), 4.2 ng.microl(-1) (n = 10) and 42.0 ng.microl(-1) (n = 11) insulin-injected rats (In); (b) renal-denervated i.c.v. 0.15 M NaCl (Co(Dx), n = 5), and insulin-injected rats (In(Dx), n = 5); and (c) subcutaneously insulin-injected rats (SC, n = 5). We showed that centrally administered insulin produced dose-related increased urinary output of sodium [Co: 855 +/- 85 Delta% min, 0.42 ng.microl(-1) In: 1189 +/- 308 Delta% min, 4.2 ng.microl(-1) In: 1461 +/- 594 Delta% min (p = 0.048), and 42.0 ng.microl(-1) In: 2055 +/- 411 Delta% min (p = 0.0001)], and dose-independently increased potassium excretion [Co: 460 +/- 28 Delta% min, 0.42 ng.microl(-1) In: 649 +/- 100 Delta% min (p = 0.016), 4.2 ng.microl(-1) In: 671 +/- 175 Delta% min (p = 0.003), and 42.0 ng.microl(-1) In: 669 +/- 70 Delta% min (p = 0.002)] compared to control. The urinary sodium excretion response to i.c.v. 42 ng.microl(-1) insulin injections were abolished by bilateral renal denervation. In addition, we showed that insulin-induced natriuresis occurred by increasing postproximal tubule sodium rejection (FEPP(Na)), and changed glomerular filtration rate (C(Cr)) at 42.0 ng.microl(-1) (p = 0.023) i.c.v. insulin microinjection but not at smaller insulin dose. The current data suggests that a blunted efferent insulin-sensitive nerve activity from periventricular region may contribute to the inability of renal tubules to handle the hydroelectrolyte balance.