Histological alterations, oxidative stress, and inflammatory response in the liver of swamp eel (Monopterus albus) acutely exposed to copper.

Copper (Cu) is widely used as an essential trace element in diets as well as a therapeutic chemical. However, excessive Cu has deleterious effects on organisms, including teleosts. Although numerous toxic effects of Cu have been reported, the effects of Cu exposure on the swamp eel (Monopterus albus) as well as the underlying mechanisms have not yet been elucidated. In this study, swamp eels were acutely exposed to 100, 200, and 400 µg/L of Cu for 96 h to evaluate liver histopathology, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Dissolution of hepatocyte membrane, vacuolar degeneration, and inflammatory cell infiltration were detected in the livers of the Cu-treated swamp eels, especially in the 400 µg Cu/L group. Cu-induced hepatic dysfunction was further verified by the elevated activities of glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) and glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) and transcript levels of GOT and GPT genes. In addition, Cu exposure decreased the activities of total superoxide dismutase T-SOD and catalase (CAT) and the contents of glutathione (GSH) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and increased the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA). Cu exposure also significantly decreased the transcript levels of glutathione synthetase (GSS) and increased the transcript levels of SOD1, SOD2, CAT, and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) genes. Furthermore, pro-inflammatory genes such as interleukin (IL)-1ß, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and IL-8 were significantly upregulated. These results indicate that Cu induces oxidative stress and inflammatory response and causes pathological changes in the liver of the swamp eel.

The response of meat ducks from 15 to 35 d of age to gossypol from cottonseed meal.

The objective of this study was to investigate the responses of meat ducks of 15 to 35 d of age to free gossypol (FG) from cottonseed meal (CSM) and to establish the maximum limits of dietary FG concentration based on growth performance, blood parameters, and tissue residues of gossypol. Nine hundred 15-d-old ducks were randomly allocated to 5 treatments with 10 cages/treatment and 18 ducks/cage on the basis of BW. Five isonitrogenous and isocaloric experimental diets were formulated on a digestible amino acid basis to produce diets in which 0% (without FG), 25% (36 mg FG/kg), 50% (75 mg FG/kg), 75% (111 mg FG/kg), and 100% (153 mg FG/kg) of protein from soybean meal were replaced by that from CSM. Increasing dietary FG content, BW, and ADG decreased (linearly, P<0.05, except for ADG of days 29 to 35), and F/G linearly increased (P<0.05). At 35 d, blood hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration linearly decreased (P<0.05), while serum total protein, albumin, and globulin content linearly decreased (P<0.05), and the residue of gossypol in liver, kidney, heart, breast, and leg muscle linearly increased (P<0.001) with increases in dietary FG concentration. Ducks fed 36 mg FG/kg (5.83% CSM of diet) diet had a normal histological structure of liver, and muscle (breast and leg) had no residue of gossypol. The maximum limit of dietary FG concentration was estimated to range from a low of 36 mg/kg to maximize serum globulin concentration to a high of 124 mg/kg to minimize feed intake for 22 to 28 d on the basis of a quadratic broken-line model.

Effects of dietary gossypol concentration on growth performance, blood profiles, and hepatic histopathology in meat ducks.

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of gossypol from cottonseed meal (CSM) on growth performance, blood biochemical profiles, and liver histopathology of ducks. A total of 900 1-d-old ducks were randomly allocated to 5 treatments with 12 pens/treatment and 15 ducks/pen. The 5 experimental diets were formulated in such a way that 0% (a corn-soybean meal basal diet, diet 1), 25% (diet 2), 50% (diet 3), 75% (diet 4), and 100% (diet 5) of protein from soybean meal were replaced with that from CSM. All diets were formulated on a digestible amino acid basis. The experiment included 2 phases, the starter phase (1 to 3 wk) where the test diets contained graded levels of CSM and the growth phase (4 to 5 wk) where birds were fed a corn-soybean basal diet to examine the recovery of ducks after CSM withdrawal. Dietary CSM and gossypol linearly (P < 0.01) and quadratically (P < 0.01) decreased ADG and ADFI during d 1 to 14. The threshold of daily total gossypol (TG) and free gossypol (FG) intake based on ADG on d 1 to 7 and d 7 to 14 were 32.20 and 2.64 mg/d, and 92.12 and 9.62 mg/d, respectively. Serum alanine aminotransferase increased (P < 0.05) linearly with increasing level of gossypol in the diets (d 7), whereas aspartate aminotransferase increased (P < 0.05) linearly and quadratically (d 14). Serum albumin concentration decreased (P < 0.05) quadratically with increasing dietary CSM concentrations on d 21. The degree of damage to the liver increased markedly with increasing dietary CSM and gossypol content and the length of CSM and gossypol intake. On d 35, there was no difference on BW and blood profiles of ducks among all treatments. These results suggest that meat ducks' dietary TG and FG concentration should be lower than 928.9 and 77.2 mg/kg, respectively, during d 1 to 21 of age and that a 2-wk withdrawal of diets containing gossypol should be considered.

Effect of nano extracts of olea europaea leaves, ficus carica and liraglutide in lipidemic liver of type 2 diabetic rat model.

The study aimed to evaluate the impact of Ficus carica mixture and Olea europaea leaf nano extracts, and liraglutide, on liver tissue and serum lipids in type 2 diabetic male albino rat model. Forty rats were divided equally into 4 groups were used. Group 1 was the non-diabetic control group. The animals in Groups 2-4 was injected intraperitoneally with a single dose of 60 mg/kg b.w. Streptozotocin to induce a diabetic rat model. Group 2 served as a positive control for diabetes. 0.02 mg/kg b.w./day of Liraglutide gave to groups 3 and 4 and 4.8 ng/ml × 105 b.w./day of a mixture of the nano extracts, respectively. Eight weeks after treatment, the animals were sacrificed. Blood was collected for glucose analysis and serum low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol, and triglycerides analysis, and the livers processed for histopathological examination. The elevated lipid profiles and blood glucose levels in diabetic group (Group 2) were significantly reduced (p < 0.001) following the administration of liraglutide and nano extracts in Groups 3 and 4. Progressive fatty acid changes were found in the liver sections, indicated by the deposition of various sizes of lipid droplets in most liver lobules, along with patchy hepatocyte necrosis. These pathological changes were ameliorated in the liraglutide- and nano-extract-treated rats. Treatment with the nano extracts resulted in significant power assays associated with recovery of hepatic histology and functional alterations, compared to liraglutide treatment.

Protective Effect of Pomegranate (Punica granatum) Extract against Diabetic Changes in Adult Male Rat Liver: Histological Study.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus could be result from disorders in insulin secretion or receptors, characterized by hyperglycemia. Natural antioxidants including pomegranate have hypoglycemic effect. AIM OF THE WORK: The present research was designed to evaluate the possible protective role of pomegranate peel extract (PPE) against diabetic-induced hepatic complication. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-eight male Wistar rats, weighed 200-250 g and aged 3 months, were sorted into four groups: Group 1: Used as control, Group 2: Normal rats received PPE (200 mg/kg bw/day) given orally for 11 consecutive weeks. Group 3: Streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic rats, injected with 55 mg/kg bw of STZ, and Group 4: Normal rats received PPE for 11 weeks and then rats were injected with STZ (55 mg/kg/bw). Effectiveness of the PPE was assessed by measuring serum glucose and histopathology of liver tissue. Liver enzymes were also assayed. PPE was found to control diabetic hyperglycemia and decrease in body weight. Histological examination showed that pretreatment with PPE provided preservation against diabetes-induced hepatic histological changes (necrotic and apoptosis). RESULT: Alanine aminotransferase, alanine phosphatase, and aspartate aminotransferase levels were significantly elevated in Group 3 diabetics and decreased in Group 4 which confirmed histological finding. CONCLUSION: This study confirmed the hypothesized possible protective effect of PPE against diabetic-induced histological and functional alteration of rat liver and advised its use by diabetic patients.

Expression and roles of TIPE2 in autoimmune hepatitis.

Tumor necrosis factor, alpha-induced protein 8-like 2 (TIPE2) is associated with the development of hepatic inflammatory diseases. However, to date, the possible role of TIPE2 in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) has not been reported. The present study aimed to investigate the expression of TIPE2 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of mice with AIH. Furthermore, the liver function, pro-inflammatory cytokine production and hepatic histopathology were examined in TIPE2-deficient mice in order to evaluate whether TIPE2 is involved in the pathogenesis of AIH. A murine model of AIH was induced by treatment with concanavalin A (ConA). The expression of TIPE family members in the PBMCs was examined using reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis, while the protein expression of TIPE2 was additionally detected by western blot analysis. The activity of alanine amiotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in the serum was measured on an automated chemical analyzer to assess liver function. The serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-12 were measured using commercial ELISA kits. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed to assess hepatic histopathology. The results showed that the expression of TIPE2 was significantly decreased in the mice with AIH. Following ConA-induced AIH, TIPE2-deficient mice had significantly increased serum ALT and AST levels, enhanced production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, as well as more severe hepatic inflammation compared with the wild-type mice. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated, for the first time, that TIPE2 is involved in the pathogenesis of AIH. TIPE2 prevents liver dysfunction and inhibits deleterious inflammatory immune responses after AIH and may therefore serve as a novel agent for the treatment of AIH.

Histopathology from liver of tuvira ( Gymnotus spp.) parasitized by larvae of nematodes / Histopatologia de fígado de tuvira parasitado por larvas de nematoides

ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to evaluate the histological changes in the liver of thirty-five Gymnotusspp. parasitized by endohelminths collected between April 2012 to October 2013 in commercial bait fish farming of Pantanal basin. Histological cuts of 7µm were stained with hematoxylin-eosin for parasites research and liver changes and have also been submitted to the Perls histochemical method for evaluation of hemosiderosis (Fe+++) based on the incidence degree and severity of change (Grade I, II and III) and tests for the presence of central melanomacrophages. Parasites identified were: Brevimulticaecumsp. with a prevalence of 22,9%, Eustrongylidessp 17,1%, Contracaecumtype I 68,7%, Contracaecumtype II 5,7%, Contracaecumtype III 5,7% and larvae of Anisakidae11,4%. Histological analysis showed intense disorganization of hepatic parenchyma with degenerate hepatocytes due to high parasitic infection, changes that can be deleterious and compromise the organism functioning, being harmful to the health of evaluated animals. Also evidencing normal tissue interleaved with different stages of Fe+++ deposit in grades II and III, injuring or destroing the cell. Histopathological changes in the tuvira's liver suggested a chronic response and the development of a balance relation between tuvira and parasitism by endohelminth identified in this study. There are also a testimony to the health condition of commercial bait fish farming on current ecosystem conditions.

RESUMO: O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar as alterações histológicas do fígado de trinta e cinco Gymnotusspp. parasitados por endohelmintos, coletados entre abril de 2012 a outubro de 2013, em isqueiros da bacia do Pantanal. Cortes histológicos de 7µm foram corados com hematoxilina-eosina para pesquisa de parasitos e de alterações hepáticas; também foram submetidos ao método histoquímico de Perls para avaliação de hemossiderose (Fe+++) com base no grau de incidência e severidade da alteração (Grau I, II e III) e pesquisa da presença de centro de melanomacrófagos. Os parasitos identificados foram: Brevimulticaecumsp., com prevalência de 22,9%, Eustrongylidessp. 17,1%, Contracaecumtipo I 68,7%, Contracaecumtipo II 5,7%, Contracaecumtipo III 5,7% e larvas de Anisakidae11,4%. A análise histológica revelou intensa desorganização do parênquima hepático, com hepatócitos degenerados devido à alta infecção parasitária. Essas alterações podem ser deletérias e comprometer o funcionamento do organismo, sendo prejudicial à saúde dos animais avaliados; também evidenciou tecido normal intercalado com estágios diferenciados de depósito de Fe+++ nos Graus II e III, podendo lesionar ou destruir a célula. As alterações histopatológicas do fígado das tuviras sugerem uma resposta crônica e o desenvolvimento de uma relação de equilíbrio entre a tuvira e o parasitismo pelos endohelmintos identificados neste estudo. Elas também são um testemunho da condição de saúde dos peixes dos isqueiros nas condições atuais do ecossistema.

Liver fibrosis of chronic HBV infected patients older than 40-year-old with normal ALT / 临床肝胆病杂志

Objective To analyze the stages of liver fibrosis in patients aged older than 40 with normal ALT.Methods 84 patients with chronic HBV infected were investigated in this study. Liver function, HBeAg, HBVDNA, serum liver fibrosis indexes were tested. And liver biopsy was taken in all the patients and the tissues were stained with HE and Masson.Results 73.4% patients were at fibrosis stage 2-4. The serum fibrosis indexes correlated with the fibrosis stage of liver histology. While the levels of HBeAg and HBVDNA didn't correlate with the severity of liver fibrosis.Conclusion Liver fibrosis of patients older than 40-year-old should be analyzed synthetically with many clinical indexes. These patients should be administered with antifibrosis therapy to prevent the progression of liver cirrhosis.