Effect of iloprost on erythrocyte deformability in rat's lower extremity undergoing an ischemia reperfusion injury

Effects of N-Acetylcysteine and N-Acetylcysteine Amide on Erythrocyte Deformability and Oxidative Stress in a Rat Model of Lower Extremity Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is an antioxidant which works as a free radical scavenger and antiapoptotic agent. N-acetylcysteine-amide (NACA) is a modified form of NAC containing an amide group instead of a carboxyl group of NAC. Our study aims to investigate the effectiveness of these two substances on erythrocyte deformability and oxidative stress in muscle tissue. Materials and Methods. A total of 24 Wistar albino rats were used in our study. The animals were randomly divided into five groups as control (n: 6), ischemia (n: 6), NAC (n: 6), and NACA (n: 6). In the ischemia, NAC, and NACA groups, 120 min of ischemia and 120 min of reperfusion were achieved by placing nontraumatic vascular clamps across the abdominal aorta. The NAC and NACA groups were administered an injection 30 min before ischemia (100 mg/kg NAC; 100 mg/kg NACA; intravenous). Blood samples were taken from the animals at the end of the ischemic period. The lower extremity gastrocnemius muscle was isolated and stored at −80 degrees to assess the total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), and oxidative stress index (OSI) values and was analyzed. Results. The erythrocyte deformability index was found to be statistically significantly lower in rats treated with NAC and NACA before ischemia-reperfusion compared to the groups that received only ischemia-reperfusion. In addition, no statistically significant difference was found between the control group and the NAC and NACA groups. The groups receiving NAC and NACA before ischemia exhibited higher total antioxidative status and lower total oxidative status while the oxidative stress index was also lower. Conclusion. The results of our study demonstrated the protective effects of NAC and NACA on erythrocyte deformability and oxidative damage in skeletal muscle in lower extremity ischemia-reperfusion. NAC and NACA exhibited similar protective effects on oxidative damage and erythrocyte deformability.

The effect of iloprost and sildenafil, alone and in combination, on myocardial ischaemia and nitric oxide and irisin levels

Aim

Insufficient oxygen supply to organs and tissues due to reduced arterial or venous blood flow results in ischaemia, during which, although ATP production stops, AMP and adenosine continue to be produced from ATP. The fate of irisin, which causes the production of heat instead of ATP during ischaemia, is unknown. Iloprost and sildenafil are two pharmaceutical agents that mediate the resumption of reperfusion (blood supply) via vasodilatation during ischaemic conditions. Our study aimed to explore the effects of iloprost and sildenafil on irisin levels in the heart, liver and kidney tissues and whether these pharmaceutical agents had any impact on serum irisin and nitric oxide levels in rats with induced experimental myocardial ischaemia.

Methods

The study included adult male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 10 months and weighing between 250 and 280 g. The animals were randomly allocated to eight groups, with five rats in each group. The groups were: sham (control), iloprost (ILO), sildenafil (SIL), ILO + SIL, myocardial ischaemia (MI), MI + ILO, MI + SIL and MI + ILO + SIL. The treatment protocols were implemented before inducing ischaemia, which was done by occluding the left coronary artery with a plastic ligature for 30 minutes. Following the reperfusion procedure, all rats were sacrificed after 24 hours, and their heart, liver and kidney tissues and blood samples were collected for analyses. An immunohistochemical method was used to measure the change in irisin levels, the ELISA method to quantify blood irisin levels, and Griess’ assay to determine nitric oxide (NO) levels in the serum and tissue. Myocardial ischaemia was confirmed based on the results of Masson’s trichrome staining, as well as levels of troponin and creatine kinase MB.

Results

Irisin levels in biological tissue and serum dropped statistically significantly in the ischaemic group (MI), but were restored with ILO and SIL administration. Individual SIL administration was more potently restorative than individual ILO administration or the combined administration of the two agents. NO level, on the other hand, showed the opposite tendency, reaching the highest level in the MI group, and falling with the use of pharmaceutical agents.

Conclusions

Individual or combined administration of ILO and SIL reduced myocardial ischaemia and NO levels, and increased irisin levels. Elevated levels of irisin obtained by drug administration could possibly contribute to accelerated wound recovery by local heat production. Sildenafil was more effective than iloprost in eliminating ischaemia and may be the first choice in offsetting the effects of ischaemia in the future.

Comparison of hyperbaric oxygen versus iloprost treatment in an experimental rat central retinal artery occlusion model

PURPOSE

Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) is one of the serious ophthalmological emergencies with poor visual prognosis. Iloprost is a stable prostacyclin analogue and has prominent anti-edema, anti-inflammatory, vasodilatory, and antiagregant effects. The main objective of this work was to investigate iloprost as an alternative agent versus hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) in the treatment of CRAO.

METHODS

Twenty-eight healthy Wistar albino male rats were randomly assigned into control (n = 7, sham operation), HBO (n = 7), iloprost (n = 7), and sham groups (n = 7). CRAO model was created through optic nerve exploration and ligation. Full-thickness retina (FTR), outer nuclear layer (ONL), inner nuclear layer (INL) and ganglion cell layer (GCL) thickness were measured on Hematoxylin/Eosin (H&E) stained retinal sections and immunohistochemical analysis including terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated biotindeoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay was performed to determine the apoptotic index (AI).

RESULTS

AI values of HBO (0.204 ± 0.067) and iloprost (0.197 ± 0.052) groups were significantly lower than sham (0.487 ± 0.046) group (p < 0.001). Any significant difference was found between the HBO and iloprost groups in terms of AI (p = 0.514). A statistically significant increase in thickness of FTR, ONL, INL and GCL was detected in HBO, iloprost and sham groups compared to the control group (p = 0.002). FTR, ONL, INL and GCL thickness were significantly thinner in HBO and iloprost groups than in the sham group (p = 0.002). A significant lesser increase was observed in all the retinal layers thickness in iloprost group versus HBO group (p = 0.002) except for INL (p = 0.665).

CONCLUSIONS

The study results demonstrated anti-edema, neuroprotective, and anti-apoptotic effects of iloprost quantitatively; thus, iloprost may be a beneficial alternative agent in the treatment of CRAO.