Abstract
The effect of defibrotide treatment in protecting liver metabolism from ischemic damage was studied. The drug was administered to male Wistar rats as a bolus (30 mg/kg body weight) at the beginning of 60 min ischemia and then continuously during 60 min of postischemic reperfusion at a dose of 30 mg/kg body weight. This dose was previously identified as useful to protect against myocardial ischemia induced in the cat. ATP and ADP intrahepatic levels were significantly higher in drug-treated rats than in untreated animals. The liver cytoplasmic NAD+/NADH ratio in defibrotide-treated rats was no different from that observed in sham-operated rats. The mitochondrial NAD+/NADH ratio in the liver was also improved by defibrotide treatment. Our data suggest that defibrotide may exert protective activity on hepatocytes useful for inducing a rapid restoration of their metabolism. Such a restoration is possibly related to improvement of microcirculation through an increase in prostaglandin I2 production or oxygen delivery due to drug administration.
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