title: Protective effects of ulinastatin on acute liver failure induced by lipopolysaccharide/D-galactosamine.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although treatment of acute liver failure has been improved significantly recently, the survival rate of acute liver failure is only 5-20%. Therefore, prevention and treatment of acute liver failure are still urgent issues in the field of liver disease.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  It has been demonstrated that ulinastatin could attenuate acute injury of internal organs from endotoxin. This study evaluates whether ulinastatin can prevent and/or attenuate acute liver failure induced by the combination of lipopolysaccharide and D-galactosamine (LPS/D-gal).
  
  
  METHODS
  Sprague-Dawley rats were employed to induce acute liver failure by injection of LPS/D-gal. The liver function, inflammatory factors, oxidative stress index, and hepatic histopathological alteration were examined in the rats with and without ulinastatin treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In rats treated with LPS/D-gal, there were increases in the levels of ALT and AST in the serum and levels of malondialdehyde and inducible nitric oxide synthase in liver tissues. Moreover, the levels of antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase were reduced in the liver. Furthermore, inflammatory factors (TNF-alpha and IL-6) and apoptotic enzyme (caspase-3) were increased in the respective serum and liver of rats treated with LPS/D-gal. However, pre-treatment of ulinastatin significantly reversed all of these parameters in the rats that received LPS/D: -gal alone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The finding in this study suggests that ulinastatin could be a potential agent for prevention and treatment of acute liver injury induced by LPS/D-gal.
authors: Department of Gastroenterology, The Tenth Shanghai Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200072, China.
authors: Jie
authors: J
authors: Lu
authors: Yong-Ping
authors: YP
authors: Chen
authors: Rong
authors: R
authors: Wan
authors: Chuan-Yong
authors: CY
authors: Guo
authors: Xing-Peng
authors: XP
authors: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000097:blood; D005688:Galactosamine / Q000009:adverse effects; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D017114:Liver Failure, Acute / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000032:analysis; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / Q000032:analysis; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014361:Trypsin Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D006023:Glycoproteins; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014361:Trypsin Inhibitors; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D005688:Galactosamine; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; D053148:Caspase 3; C028665:urinastatin