Antioxidative Effects of Curcumin on the Hepatotoxicity Induced by Ochratoxin A in Rats

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a powerful mycotoxin found in various foods and feedstuff, responsible for subchronic and chronic toxicity, such as nephrotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, teratogenicity, and immunotoxicity to both humans and several animal species. The severity of the liver damage caused depends on both dose and duration of exposure. Several studies have suggested that oxidative stress might contribute to increasing the hepatotoxicity of OTA, and several antioxidants, including curcumin (CURC), have been tested to counteract the toxic hepatic action of OTA in various classes of animals. Therefore, the present study was designed to evaluate the protective effect of CURC, a bioactive compound with different therapeutic properties on hepatic injuries caused by OTA in rat animal models. CURC effects were examined in Sprague Dawley rats treated with CURC (100 mg/kg), alone or in combination with OTA (0.5 mg/kg), by gavage daily for 14 days. At the end of the experiment, rats treated with OTA showed alterations in biochemical parameters and oxidative stress in the liver. CURC dosing significantly attenuated oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation versus the OTA group. Furthermore, liver histological tests showed that CURC reduced the multifocal lymphoplasmacellular hepatitis, the periportal fibrosis, and the necrosis observed in the OTA group. This study provides evidence that CURC can preserve OTA-induced oxidative damage in the liver of rats.

The effect of ionophore A23187 on calcium ion fluxes and α-adrenergic-agonist action in perfused rat liver

The effect of ionophore A23187 on cellular Ca2+ fluxes, glycogenolysis and respiration was examined in perfused liver. At low extracellular Ca2+ concentrations (less than 4 microM), A23187 induced the mobilization of intracellular Ca2+ and stimulated the rate of glycogenolysis and respiration. As the extracellular Ca2+ concentration was elevated, biphasic cellular Ca2+ fluxes were observed, with Ca2+ uptake preceding Ca2+ efflux. Under these conditions, both the glycogenolytic response and the respiratory response also became biphasic, allowing the differentiation between the effects of extracellular and intracellular Ca2+. Under all conditions examined the rate of Ca2+ efflux induced by A23187 was much slower than the rate of phenylephrine-induced Ca2+ efflux, although the net amounts of Ca2+ effluxed were similar for both agents. The effect of A23187 on phenylephrine-induced Ca2+ fluxes, glycogenolysis and respiration is dependent on the extracellular Ca2+ concentration. At concentrations of less than 50 microM-Ca2+, A23187 only partially inhibited alpha-agonist action, whereas at 1.3 mM-Ca2+ almost total inhibition was observed. The action of A23187 at the cellular level is complex, dependent on the experimental conditions used, and shows both differences from and similarities to the hepatic action of alpha-adrenergic agonists.

Predominance of renal and absence of hepatic metabolism of pancreatic polypeptide in the dog

Pancreatic polypeptide (PP) metabolism was studied in the dog. Metabolic clearance rate (MCR) of PP was found to be 9.5 +/- 0.9 ml . kg-1 . min-1, accounted for predominantly by renal extraction (34.9 +/- 2.6% of exogenous PP), which comprised 45.5 +/- 5.8% of total PP clearance. Hepatic extraction of both endogenous (-9.9 +/- 6.1%) and exogenous (2.2 +/- 1.4%) PP infused to pharmacological levels was negligible, as was its splanchnic extraction (4.2 +/- 0.9%). Renal organ clearance of exogenous PP (3.7 +/- 0.3 ml . kg-1 . min-1) closely approximated that of inulin (3.6 +/- 0.3 ml . kg-1 . min-1), indicating that renal PP metabolism occurs entirely by glomerular filtration without contribution from peritubular uptake mechanisms. Urinary PP, chromatographically indistinguishable from that in plasma but quantitatively accounting for less than 1% of overall renal PP uptake, indicated virtually complete renal degradation of the peptide to nonimmunoreactive fragments. Renal PP extraction was shown to be nonsaturable. Plasma half disappearance time of PP was 10.1 +/- 1.0 min and apparent distribution space 307 +/- 39 ml/kg. Linkage between the hepatic action and degradation of insulin and glucagon has been proposed, and in this light absent hepatic PP extraction is noteworthy. This finding, reminiscent of the hepatic handling of metabolically inert C-peptide and biologically inactive glucagon peptides, is consistent with the absence of demonstrable physiological function of PP.