BACKGROUND: Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) syndrome remains an important clinical consideration in hepatic surgery, hemorrhagic shock, and liver transplantation. γ-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) has been reported to exert protective effects against ischemia-reperfusion injury to various organs. To investigate whether GHB protects the liver from warm ischemia-reperfusion injury, we performed this study in rats.
METHODS: Thirty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into a sham-operation group, a control group,and three I/R groups pretreated with GHB, GHB plus naloxone or naloxone. After 30 minutes of partial ischemia, followed by 60 minutes of reperfusion in the liver, histomorphological and enzymological changes, lipid peroxidation, apoptosis, and the plasma level of endothelin-1 were observed.
RESULTS: I/R increased the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase and the plasma level of endothelin-1 significantly (P<0.01), in addition to increase of apoptotic index (AI) from 0.28%±0.25% to 17.68%±1.91%. The levels of hepatic malondialdehyde were markedly increased, whereas the activities of superoxide dismutase were markedly decreased. GHB pretreatment prevented the liver from warm ischemia-reperfusion injury significantly, but naloxone partially blocked this effect.
CONCLUSION: GHB may significantly protect the liver from hepatic warm ischemia-reperfusion injury via several different mechanisms.