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The effects of acute acetaminophen toxicity on hepatic mRNA expression of SOD, CAT, GSH-Px, and levels of peroxynitrite, nitric oxide, reduced glutathione, and malondialdehyde in rabbit

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An Erratum to this article was published on 19 March 2014

Abstract

We investigated the regulation of antioxidant system under acetaminophen (AAP) toxicity. Twelve male New Zealand rabbits were divided into two groups with the following treatments: Group 1 animals were intraperitoneally injected with single saline (control). Group 2 animals were treated with intraperitoneal injection of AAP at a dose of 250 mg/kg body weight. Four hours following the treatments, blood samples were collected and the rabbits were sacrificed to collect liver samples. Hepatocellular damage was evaluated by aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels as well as histopathological examinations and immunohistochemical analysis. Tissue-reduced glutathione (GSH), nitric oxide (NO·), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were also measured. mRNA expression levels of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were measured by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. It was found that liver GSH was reduced significantly in AAP-treated rabbits (P < 0.05), while MDA and NO· levels were increased when they were compared to control (P < 0.05). Blood AST and ALT levels were also increased following AAP treatment (P < 0.05). Hepatocellular degeneration and severe necrosis were detected in histopathological examinations. Increased immunostaining was observed for inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and nitrotyrosine in the liver. There were no changes in mRNA expression levels of SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px after AAP treatment compared to control group. These results suggest that the expression of these enzymes, which are involved in the antioxidant system, may not be altered after AAP toxicity, although classical toxic changes such as depletion of GSH, hepatocellular necrosis, and increased immunostaining for iNOS and nitrotyrosine were detected.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Arts, Kafkas University, 36100, Kars, Turkey

    Yilmaz Cigremis & Kevser Adiguzel

  2. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Arts, Kafkas University, 36100, Kars, Turkey

    Huseyin Turel & Muslum Akgoz

  3. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kafkas University, 36100, Kars, Turkey

    Asim Kart

  4. Department of Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kafkas University, 36100, Kars, Turkey

    Musa Karaman & Hasan Ozen

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  1. Yilmaz Cigremis
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  2. Huseyin Turel
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Correspondence to Yilmaz Cigremis.

Additional information

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11010-009-0093-6

An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11010-014-2010-x.

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Cigremis, Y., Turel, H., Adiguzel, K. et al. The effects of acute acetaminophen toxicity on hepatic mRNA expression of SOD, CAT, GSH-Px, and levels of peroxynitrite, nitric oxide, reduced glutathione, and malondialdehyde in rabbit. Mol Cell Biochem 323, 31–38 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-008-9961-8

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