title: Melatonin attenuates oxidative stress, liver damage and hepatocyte apoptosis after bile-duct ligation in rats.
abstract: The goal of this study was to evaluate the possible protective effects of melatonin against cholestatic oxidative stress, liver damage and hepatocyte apoptosis in the common rats with bile duct ligation (BDL). A total of 24 male Wistar albino rats were divided into three groups: control, BDL and BDL + received melatonin; each group contains eight animals. Melatonin-treated BDL rats received daily melatonin 100 mg/kg/day via intraperitoneal injection. The application of BDL clearly increased the malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and decreased the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) activities. Melatonin treatment significantly decreased the elevated tissue MDA levels and increased the reduced SOD and GSH enzyme levels in the tissues. The changes demonstrate that the bile duct proliferation and fibrosis in expanded portal tracts include the extension of proliferated bile ducts into lobules, mononuclear cells and neutrophil infiltration into the widened portal areas as observed in the BDL group. The data indicate that melatonin attenuates BDL-induced cholestatic liver injury, bile duct proliferation and fibrosis. The α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL)-positive cells in the BDL were observed to be reduced with the melatonin treatment. These results suggest that administration of melatonin is a potentially beneficial agent to reduce liver damage in BDL by decreasing oxidative stress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Namik Kemal University, Tekirdag, Turkey cevata@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Cevat
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Aktas
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kanter
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Trakya, Edirne, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Erboga
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, Namik Kemal University, Tekirdag, Turkey.
authors.forename: Rafet
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mete
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Namik Kemal University, Tekirdag, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oran
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002779:Cholestasis / Q000188:drug therapy; D003135:Common Bile Duct / Q000601:surgery; D005355:Fibrosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000187:drug effects*; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D008026:Ligation; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000097:blood; D008550:Melatonin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase
chemical_list: D008315:Malondialdehyde; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D005978:Glutathione; D008550:Melatonin
keywords: Bile duct ligation; apoptosis; liver; melatonin; oxidative stress; α-sma