Investigating the protective effect of melatonin on liver injury related to myocardial ischemia-reperfusion.
BACKGROUND
An animal model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (MI/R) was used to test the hypothesis that free radicals released with MI/R have hazardous effects on liver through remote organ injury.


METHODS
Twenty-one rats were divided into three groups: sham-treated, MI/R, and MI/R+melatonin. To produce MI/R, a branch of the left coronary artery was occluded for 30 min followed by two hours of reperfusion. Melatonin or vehicle was given 10 min before ischemia. At the end of the study, liver tissue was obtained for biochemical determination. The false discovery rate (FDR) is explained and was used for multiple comparisons of the groups' means.


RESULTS
Compared with the sham group, MI/R significantly decreased glutathione (GSH) content and increased levels of nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA). Melatonin administration significantly increased GSH levels and decreased the levels of NO and MDA compared with the MI/R group.


CONCLUSIONS
Melatonin could prevent liver damage due to its strong antioxidant and free radical scavenger effects. Therefore, melatonin may have beneficial effects on remote organ injury such as MI/R-induced liver disorders.
Colak
Cemil
C
Turkish Standards Institution (TSE), Ankara, Turkey. cemilcolak@yahoo.com
Parlakpinar
Hakan
H
Ozer
Mehmet Kaya
MK
Sahna
Engin
E
Cigremis
Yilmaz
Y
Acet
Ahmet
A
D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000494:pharmacology; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000293:injuries* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D008550:Melatonin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015428:Myocardial Reperfusion Injury / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
D000975:Antioxidants; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D005978:Glutathione; D008550:Melatonin