Abstract.
Objective and design:
To investigate the protective effects of pirfenidone on acute liver damage caused by D-galactosamine (GalN)/lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in rats.
Material and treatment:
Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups (five rats per group): normal control group, GalN/LPS-treated group, and three pirfenidone-treated group (100, 300 and 500 mg/kg i.p., respectively). All biochemical and histological indexes were determined at 12 h after GalN/LPS challenge.
Methods:
Severity of liver injury was assessed by determination of serum ALT, AST levels and histological analysis. SOD activity and MDA concentrations as well as TNF-α and IFN-γ levels in the liver of rats were measured. The expression of iNOS and its product, NO concentration were also determined.
Results:
Pretreatment with pirfenidone significantly attenuated GalN/LPS-induced severe hepatotoxicity, as evidenced by decreased ALT, AST levels and MDA content and improved histopathological changes. Pirfenidone inhibited the elevated levels of TNF-α and IFN-γ and reduced the induction of iNOS/NO in a dose-dependent manner, which might be important mechanisms related to its protective effect.
Conclusions:
Pirfenidone can provide a definite protective effect against acute hepatic injury caused by GalN/LPS in rats, which may be mainly mediated through its anti-inflammatory effect.
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Received 11 August 2007; returned for revision 1 October 2007; received from final revision 8 October 2007; accepted by K. Visvanathan 8 December 2007
The first two authors (Fang Wang and Tao Wen) contributed equally to this manuscript.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, F., Wen, T., Chen, XY. et al. Protective effects of pirfenidone on D-galactosamine and lipopolysaccharide-induced acute hepatotoxicity in rats. Inflamm. res. 57, 183–188 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00011-007-7153-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00011-007-7153-8