title: Protective effects of sericin protein on alcohol-mediated liver damage in mice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effects of sericin protein (SP) on alcohol-induced hepatic injury in mice and the possible mechanisms.
  
  
  METHODS
  SP (0.375, 0.75 and 1.50 g/kg body weight) was dissolved in distilled water and given to mice by gavage 1 hour before the alcohol (56% wt/vol, 14.2 ml/kg b.w.) treatment for 30 days, then blood, urine and liver were collected, processed and used for alcohol concentration mensuration, various biochemical estimations and histopathological examination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The concentration of alcohol evidently decreased in serum and increased in urine in SP treated mice as compared to alcohol-administered animals. Chronic alcohol administration resulted in significantly increase in the levels of transaminase (AST and ALT) and malondialdehyde (MDA) but decrease of glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the serum and liver. Hepatic triglyceride (TG) also increased. When mice ingested high doses of SP (0.75 and 1.50 g/kg b.w.) the levels of antioxidant enzymes in the serum were restored to normal. However, hepatic CAT and GSH were still below normal, although a trend of significant increases was observed in comparison with alcohol treatment group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicated that SP was able to hasten the alcohol elimination through urine directly and enhance the ethanol oxidation rate in liver. Simultaneously, SP may exert a protective effect against lipid peroxidation by scavenging reactive oxygen species and elevating the activity of antioxidant enzymes, in consequence prevented the peroxidative deterioration of structural lipids in membranous organelles, especially mitochondria and karyon.
authors.affiliation: Sericultural Research Institute, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Science, Hangzhou 310021, China.
authors.forename: You-Gui
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Dong-Feng
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Shi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Gui-Yan
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D012831:Bombyx; D008108:Liver Diseases, Alcoholic / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D047030:Sericins / Q000235:genetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D047030:Sericins