Postischemic treatment by trans-resveratrol in rat liver ischemia-reperfusion: a possible strategy in liver surgery.

Liver ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury occurs in many clinical conditions, including liver surgery and transplantation. Oxygen free radicals generated during I/R reduce endogenous antioxidant systems and contribute to hepatic injury. trans-Resveratrol (trans-3,5,4'-trihydroxystilbene) is reported to have antioxidant properties. We investigated the effect of trans-resveratrol on liver injury induced by I/R. After 1 hour of ischemia, administered 5 minutes before 3 hours of reperfusion, trans-resveratrol was hepatoprotective at a low dose (0.02 mg/kg). It significantly decreased aminotransferase levels by about 40% and improved sinusoidal dilatation. trans-Resveratrol preserved antioxidant defense by preventing total and reduced glutathione depletion caused by I/R. At 0.2 mg/kg, trans-resveratrol significantly increased glutathione reductase, Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase, and catalase activities. However, at a high dose (20 mg/kg), trans-resveratrol became prooxidant with an aggravation of liver injury evaluated by aminotransferase release and histological analysis and associated with a depletion of total and reduced glutathione levels and a decrease of antioxidant enzyme activities. In conclusion, a prereperfusion treatment by trans-resveratrol only at low doses decreases liver injury induced by I/R by protecting against antioxidant defense failure. This administration protocol could reduce liver damage during surgery or transplantation.

Protective effect of nitric oxide on isolated rat hepatocytes submitted to an oxidative stress.

We have previously suggested that the nitric oxide-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (NO-cGMP) pathway protects both hepatocytes and endothelial cells against liver ischemia-reperfusion injury in rat. We study here the ability of NO to protect isolated hepatocytes against an in vitro oxidative stress induced with hypochlorite solution (ClO(-)). The severity of ClO(-)-induced stress was quantified by the measurement of total glutathione and membrane lipid peroxidation. Cell damage was assessed by morphologic (cell viability and bleb formation) and biologic (transaminase release) criteria. A 30-minute incubation of hepatocytes with 100 micromol/L ClO(-) maximally decreased cell viability (-40%) and increased bleb formation (+300%) and release of transaminases activities (aspartate transaminase [AST] = +60% and alanine transaminase [ALT] = +300%). A good correlation was observed between morphologic and biologic criteria. A preincubation of cells with 50 micromol/L 8-Br-cGMP, did not affect the adverse ClO(-) effects on the morphologic criteria. In the presence of 20 micromol/L spermineNONOate, an NO donor, ClO(-) did not decrease cell viability, whereas its deleterious effects on bleb formation was unchanged. A preincubation with a specific inhibitor of the soluble guanylate cyclase, the 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ; 1 micromol/L), did not affect the beneficial effect of NO on the cell viability. Our results suggest that NO protects hepatocytes against oxidative stress by a mechanism, which is cGMP-independent. However, taking into account the cytoprotective effects of cGMP in the liver, it is likely that the rapid effect of NO observed in vitro is relayed in vivo by a more long-lasting mechanism, which would be inhibited by ODQ and mimicked by 8-Br-cGMP.

Protective effect of post-ischemic treatment with trans-resveratrol on cytokine production and neutrophil recruitment by rat liver.

Oxidative and inflammatory processes are elicited during hepatic post-ischemic reperfusion and generate liver damage. This study investigated the early anti-inflammatory effect of trans-resveratrol (T-res) and its consequences on the late self-aggravating inflammatory process in liver ischemia-reperfusion (I/R). Partial hepatic ischemia was initiated in rats for 1 h and T-res (0.02 and 0.2 mg/kg) was administered intravenously 5 min before starting reperfusion for 3 h. Plasma levels of aminotransferases and cytokines (tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6) and hepatic neutrophil recruitment were assessed. Hepatic expression of stress protein (heat-shock protein (HSP-70), heme oxygenase-1(HO-1)) and cytokine (TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, keratinocyte chemoattractant (KC)) mRNA was investigated. I/R caused an increase in aminotransferase levels and increased polymorphonuclear cell infiltration. Post-ischemic treatment with T-res (0.02 and 0.2 mg/kg) resulted in a significant decrease in aminotransferase, IL-1beta and IL-6 plasma levels by about 40%, 60% and 40%, respectively, compared to the vehicle I/R group. Post-ischemic treatment with T-res (0.02 mg/kg) also significantly decreased hepatic neutrophil recruitment. TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, KC and HO-1 hepatic mRNA expression was reduced by T-res without any change in HSP-70 mRNA. This T-res mediated decrease in early release of cytokines and neutrophil recruitment led to a reduction in the late inflammatory process. T-resveratrol might be useful in the prevention of inflammation secondary to hepatic surgery or liver transplantation.

Hepatic cytoprotection by nitric oxide and the cGMP pathway after ischaemia-reperfusion in the rat.

Many studies in diverse models suggest that nitric oxide (NO) may be protective against liver injury due to ischaemia-reperfusion (IR). We evaluated, in an experimental in vivo model of rat liver partial ischaemia, the effects of pretreatment by an NO donor (spermineNONOate, 5mg/kg), and exogenous cGMP (8Br-cGMP, 16 mg/kg) or an endogenous cGMP producer (ANP, 10 microg/kg), to assess their beneficial effects. After 6h of reperfusion, 8Br-cGMP completely prevented the adverse effect of Nomega-nitro-L-arginine (10mg/kg) and 8Br-cGMP alone showed a protective action on both hepatocytes (AST, -25%, LDH, -55%) and endothelial cells (plasma hyaluronic acid (HA), -30%). ANP caused a marked decrease in AST and LDH activities only after 1h of reperfusion (AST, -30%, LDH, -40%). Pretreatment with spermineNONOate prevented hepatocyte injury after 1 and 6h of reperfusion (AST, -22%, LDH, -27%). However, neither spermineNONOate nor ANP had any protective effect on endothelial cell damage. These results confirm the beneficial effect of an NO donor and strongly suggest the implication of a cGMP pathway that does not involve a blockade of inflammatory cytokines production (IL-6 generation was unaffected by 8Br-cGMP pre-treatment). In our model, 8Br-cGMP showed a greater protective effect than ANP or spermineNONOate and so might be used to prevent hepatic injury after IR. Finally, we propose a schematic representation of the different routes for the actions of NO in protecting the liver against IR damage.