Investigation of the Effects of N-Acetylcysteine on Asprosin Hormone Activity and Liver Tissues in Rats with Experimentally-Induced Diabetes

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the possible effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) treatment on rat diabetes-induced liver damage and immune reactivity of asprosin hormone in the liver. Material-Method: Twenty-eight Wistar albino male rats were used in the study. They were separated into 4 groups as Control (n=7), Diabetes (n=7), Diabetes+NAC (n=7), and NAC (n=7). The rats in all groups were dissected after the treatment, and liver tissues were taken for pathological examination. Tissue sections were stained with immunohistochemistry for detecting asprosin immunoreactivity, hematoxylin-eosin and picrosirius red staining were performed to determine the changes in the tissues. Result: In the microscopical examination of hematoxylin-eosin-stained sections normal histological hepatic tissues were seen in the Control and NAC groups. Pathological examination of liver tissue from diabetic rats showed marked dissociation, fibrosis, degeneration, inflammation, necrosis, Kupffer cells activation, bile duct proliferation, and congestion. A significant decrease in these lesions was observed in the DM+NAC group. Immunohistochemical studies showed that asprosin immunoreactivity was increased in the DM group in a significant manner. Asprosin expression was observed to be significantly reduced in the DM+NAC group in comparison to the DM group. Conclusion: Our findings show that NAC administration reduces liver damage in diabetic rats and can be used to reduce/eliminate the negative effects of diabetes in rat liver tissue.