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- Title
<italic>N</italic>-acetylcysteine attenuates intrauterine growth retardation-induced hepatic damage in suckling piglets by improving glutathione synthesis and cellular homeostasis.
- Authors
Zhang, Hao; Su, Weipeng; Ying, Zhixiong; Chen, Yueping; Zhou, Le; Li, Yue; Zhang, Jingfei; Zhang, Lili; Wang, Tian
- Abstract
Purpose: The objective of the present study was to test the hypothesis that <italic>N</italic>-acetylcysteine (NAC) may play beneficial roles against intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR)-induced hepatic damage in suckling piglets.Methods: Fourteen IUGR and seven normal birth weight (NBW) neonatal male piglets were selected. Piglets were weaned at 7 days of postnatal age and fed the control formula milk (NBW-CON and IUGR-CON groups) or the control formula milk supplemented with 1.2 g/kg NAC (IUGR-NAC group) for 14 days (<italic>n</italic> = 7). The plasma and liver samples were analyzed for the parameters related to hepatic damage, redox status, apoptosis, and autophagy.Results: Compared with the NBW-CON group, IUGR-CON group exhibited increased activities of plasma aminotransferases, increased numbers of apoptotic hepatocytes, as well as higher concentrations of protein carbonyl, malondialdehyde (MDA), microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta, and phospholipid-conjugated form (MAP1LC3B-II), along with a decrease in the content of reduced glutathione (GSH). NAC treatment increased GSH content and GSH-to-oxidized GSH ratio in the liver of IUGR-NAC group, most likely owing to the improved activities of γ-glutamine-cysteine ligase, γ-glutamine-cysteine synthetase, and glutathione reductase. The hepatic protein carbonyl and MDA contents were decreased in the IUGR-NAC group compared with the IUGR-CON group. In addition, NAC-treated piglets had an increased content of B cell lymphoma/leukemia 2 protein, whereas a decreased expression level of MAP1LC3B-II in the liver.Conclusions: NAC may have beneficial effects in improving GSH synthesis and cellular homeostasis in the liver of IUGR suckling piglets.
- Subjects
AUTOPHAGY; AMINOTRANSFERASES; ANIMAL experimentation; APOPTOSIS; B cell lymphoma; FETAL growth retardation; GENE expression; GLUTAMINE; GLUTATHIONE; HOMEOSTASIS; INGESTION; LEUKEMIA; LIVER; LIVER diseases; OXIDOREDUCTASES; SWINE; MALONDIALDEHYDE; OXIDATIVE stress; ACETYLCYSTEINE; PHARMACODYNAMICS
- Publication
European Journal of Nutrition, 2018, Vol 57, Issue 1, p327
- ISSN
1436-6207
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s00394-016-1322-x