Anti-inflammatory effect of erythropoietin on hepatic ischemia reperfusion injury in fatty liver rats

Abstract

Objective To explore the anti-inflammatory effect of erythropoietin (EPO) on hepatic ischemia reperfusion (IR) injury in fatty liver rats. Methods A total of 100 male SD rats were fed with high-fat diet for 12 weeks. After the model was successfully established, the fatty liver rats were randomly divided into sham-operation (SHAM), the ischemia-reperfusion (IR) and EPO preconditioning group. Se-rum ALT and AST as well as hepatic histopathological changes were measured. Xanthine oxidase method was used to detect the liver tissue SOD. Thiobarbituric acid method was used to detect the MDA. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent adsorption assay (ELISA) was used to detect the plasma tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin 1 (IL-1). Results In the EPO preconditioning groups the swelling hepatocytes was observed, but the inflammatory cell infiltration was significantly decreased and no necrosis of hepatocytes was found. ALT and AST in the EPO preconditioning groups were significantly lower than those in IR group (P EPO-2 >EPO-3 (P<0.05); but the values of SOD in the EPO groups were: EPO-1<EPO-2<EPO-3 (P<0.05). Conclusions EPO preconditioning has a protective effect against hepatic IR injury in fatty liver rats, possibly through inhibiting the inflammatory reaction to prevent the IR injury. The anti-inflammatory effect of high-dose EPO is better than that of low-dose EPO. Key words: Erythropoietin; Ischemia reperfusion injury; Fatty liver; Oxidative stress; Inflammatory reaction