Protective effects of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells on ischemia-reperfusion injury of fatty liver in rats

Abstract

Objective To investigate the protective effect of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (huc-MSC) on the ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) of moderately fatty liver in rats. Methods The rat fatty liver model was established by fat-rich diet feeding. 60 female SD rats were randomly divided into MSC-treated and control groups (n = 30). MSC-treated group was infused with MSC (2 x 106 cells resuspended in 1.5 ml of sterile phosphate-buffered saline solution, PBS) by intra-venous injection through the tail vein. The first dose was administered on day 1 before IRI, followed by another dose on day 3 postIRI. The control group was injected with sterile PBS alone at the same intervals. Blood and liver samples were collected at day 1,4 and 7 (10 rats at each time point) post-IRI respectively to test enzyme activities,biochemical and histological changes. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in liver tissue were measured. The pathological changes of liver tissue and apoptosis of hepatocytes were also assessed. Results Compared to the control group, the levels of ALT, AST, TNF-α, and MDA declined in the MSC-treated group on day 1 and day 4 post-IRI ( P ＜ 0. 05 ), while no difference was observed on day 7 post-IRI ( P ＞ 0. 05). There was no difference of the level of SOD between the two groups on day 1,4 and 7 post-IRI (P ＞0. 05). Pathological examination revealed inflammatory injury in the MSC-treated group was alleviated compared with that in the control group. Conclusion huc-MSC effects protection on the IRI of fatty liver in rats. Key words: Mesenchymal stem cell transplantion; Reperfusion injury; Fatty liver; Umbilical cord; Rats