Sinusoidal endothelial cell injury by superoxide anion and iron in the Propionibacterium acnes-pretreated and lipopolysaccharide-stimulated rat liver

Gut-liver-axis: Barrier function of liver sinusoidal endothelial cell

Liver diseases are associated with the leaky gut via the gut-liver-axis. Previous studies have paid much attention to the effect of gut barrier damage. Notably, clinical observations and basic research reveal that the gut barrier damage seldom leads to liver injury independently but aggravates pre-existing liver diseases such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and drug-induced liver injury. These evidences suggest that there is a hepatic barrier in the gut-liver-axis, protecting the liver against gut-derived pathogenic factors. However, it has never been investigated which type of liver cell plays the role of hepatic barrier. Under physiological conditions, liver sinusoidal endothelial cell (LSEC) can take up and eliminate virus, bacteriophage, microbial products, and metabolic wastes. LSEC also keeps the homeostasis of liver immune environment via tolerance-inducing and anti-inflammatory functions. In contrast, under pathological conditions, the clearance function of LSEC is impaired, and LSEC turns into a pro-inflammatory pattern. Given its anatomical position and physiological functions, LSEC is proposed as the hepatic barrier in the gut-liver-axis. In this review, we aim to further understand the role of LSEC as the hepatic barrier. Future studies are warranted to seek effective treatments to improve LSEC health, which appears to be a promising approach to prevent gut-derived liver injury.

The chronic hepatotoxicity assessment of the herbal formula Zishen Yutai pill

Zishen Yutai pill (ZYP) is an oriental herbal formula, while hepatotoxicity assessment of ZYP was rarely evaluated. Therefore, our aim is to re-evaluate its hepatotoxicity in both normal and carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) induced chronic liver injury rats. In the normal model, two doses of ZYP (1.575 and 9.450 g kg^-1 d^-1; i.e. 1 × , 6 × clinical doses) were given orally to rats for 24 weeks. In the chronic liver injury model, 10% CCl₄ was administered to rats abdominally twice a week at a dose of 5 mL kg^-1 for 12 consecutive weeks. Administration time started from 4 weeks after the beginning of CCl₄ treatment. Toxicological parameters included mortality, body weight, food consumption, clinical signs, biochemical parameters, gross observation, organ weight, necropsy findings and histopathology were monitored. In the normal model, we found no any mortality or abnormality in clinical signs, relative liver weight, biochemical parameters and histopathology in ZYP treatment groups. In the chronic liver injury model, liver damage related parameter such as ALT was elevated at the high dose of ZYP treatment in contrast to the CCl₄-treated group (P < 0.01). In histopathological assessment, there were no significant difference between ZYP treatment groups and CCl₄-treated group. No observed adverse effect on livers were established for 9.450 g kg^-1 d^-1 ZYP in the normal rats and 9.450 g kg^-1 d^-1 ZYP in the injury rats.

Effects of OPC-6535 on lipopolysaccharide-induced acute liver injury in the rat: involvement of superoxide and tumor necrosis factor-alpha from hepatic macrophages

BACKGROUND

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of OPC-6535 on Propionibacterium acnes-primed and lipopolysaccharide-induced liver injury in the rat.

METHODS

P. acnes was administered intravenously to the rat at 16 mg/kg 7 days before the experiments. In liver perfusion experiments, lipopolysaccharide was mixed in perfusion buffer at 2.5 microg/mL. The chemiluminescence method and histochemical reduction of nitro blue tetrazolium were used for detecting superoxide. Release of cytokines into the perfusate was examined. In in vivo experiments, lipopolysaccharide was administered intravenously to the rat at 200 microg/kg. Concentrations of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and cytokines were determined in the plasma, and myeloperoxidase activity was measured in the liver tissue. OPC-6535 was given intravenously at 1 mg/kg 30 minutes before lipopolysaccharide challenge, and was then, in perfusion experiments, added to the buffer at 10 micromol/L.

RESULTS

In perfusion experiments, P. acnes and lipopolysaccharide caused dramatic production of superoxide, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and growth-related oncogene/cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant-1 (GRO/CINC-1). Superoxide was mainly from hepatic macrophages. Treatment with OPC-6535 suppressed superoxide and TNF-alpha but did not affect GRO/CINC-1. In in vivo experiments, P. acnes and lipopolysaccharide increased the level of TNF-alpha, GRO/CINC-1, AST and ALT in the plasma, and myeloperoxidase activity in the liver. OPC-6535 reduced TNF-alpha, AST, and ALT, but did not affect GRO/CINC-1 or myeloperoxidase.

CONCLUSION

Attenuation of liver injury by OPC-6535 is believed to be due to its inhibitory effects on superoxide and TNF-alpha production by hepatic macrophages in P. acnes- and lipopolysaccharide-treated rats.

Influence of Histamine in a Liver Injury Model Induced by Propionibacterium acnes and Lipopolysaccharide

In normal mice, plasma histamine levels were 29.4+/-10.1 pmol/ml. When 0.1 microg of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was intravenously injected into Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes)-primed ICR mice, histamine levels increased remarkably to 61.2+/-15.9 pmol/ml (p<0.001). An increase was also observed in liver tissues. Oral administration of histidine at 200 mg/kg once daily for 5 d before intravenous LPS injection increased the plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity to 2936.5+/-356.3 IU/l, a significant change compared with the controls (2244.8+/-425.5 IU/l, p<0.05). The 24 h survival rate after LPS injection was 72.7% in the mice treated with 50 mg/kg of ranitidine, in contrast with 50% in the control group although the treatment did not significantly decrease the plasma ALT activity. On the other hand, 50 mg/kg of pyrilamine significantly reduced plasma ALT activity (p<0.001). The results suggested that histamine levels are related to hepatic damage in the P. acnes plus LPS induction of liver injury.

Gene expression profile analysis of the mouse liver during bacteria-induced fulminant hepatitis by a cDNA microarray system

Fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) is a disease characterized by sudden and severe impairment of liver function. To elucidate the mechanism involved in FHF, we adopted a murine model of FHF by administrating mice with heat-killed Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes), followed by a low dose of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and analyzed the dynamic change of gene expression profile of the murine liver using an in-house cDNA microarray system which contained most of the cDNAs encoding chemokines/cytokines and their receptors (33 chemokines/21 chemokine receptors, 28 cytokines/35 cytokine receptors) as well as 230 liver related proteins mostly selected by serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE). Among them, 335 genes were found to differ by more than 2-fold in at least one time point comparing with normal liver. Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed that except for a few genes, such as heme oxygenase (HO)-1 and nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT) of which expression increased, the expression of most of the genes encoding drug metabolizing enzymes decreased with the progress of the disease. The expression of the genes encoding chemokines/cytokines was dramatically changed, such as Mig, IP-10, RANTES, TNF-alpha, and IFN-gamma. In addition, the expression of those that were not previously linked to this murine model was also identified to be changed. These include endogenous IL-18 binding protein (IL-18BP), CXCL16 (the ligand of Bonzo, CXCR6) as well as ESTs. Taken together this study has shown the systemic and comprehensive gene expression profile during FHF and may contribute to better understanding of the mechanism of FHF.