Abstract
Liver regeneration is a complex physiological response that takes place after the loss of hepatocytes caused by toxic or viral injury or secondary to liver resection. This work purposed to investigate the implication of bcl-2 and bax expression as an important contribute in liver transplant donors and also the possible modulatory effect of licorice on their expression. Forty eight male albino rats weighing 250–320 g were divided into 6 groups (8 animals for each). The rats underwent partial hepatectomy (PH) represents 3 groups (sacrificed after 24, 48 and 72 h after PH) and other 3 groups after oral receiving of licorice extract for 4 weeks (2.4 g/kg b.w.). The resected liver was considered as control (zero time). The expression of bcl-2 and bax mRNA of normal liver and liver of PH were measured by reversed transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The distinct changes in the expression of the mRNA encoding these 2 genes were confirmed by an immunohistochemical staining of the liver tissues (streptavidin-biotin method). The analysis of mRNA level revealed a significant increase of anti-apoptotic bcl-2 mRNA expression after 24 h (p<0.05), while, it was declined in the following 2 d. In contrast, bax mRNA expression showed delayed increase reaching a peak at 48 h after PH. The pretreatment with licorice caused a statistically significant increase in bax mRNA expression; meanwhile, the change in bcl-2 expression was not significant when compared to the control. Furthermore, immunohistochemical staining of regenerating liver with bcl-2 and bax antibodies showed that the changes in the bcl-2 and bax protein levels were similar and consistent to that found for mRNA. It was suggested that licorice may provide a mechanism in the induction of apoptosis through modulation of bcl-2 and bax expression in regenerating liver as a model for chemopreventive drug of cancers.
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