Showing 14 results for Rats
Vosooghi M, Sadeghipour Roodsari Hr, Amini M, Simi S,
Volume 64, Issue 7 (8-2006)
Abstract
Background: The male antifertility activity of Gossypol, the active ingredient of cotton seed, inspired the idea for development of an agent with male contraceptive activity. The result of subsequent studies lead to the discovery of several class of compounds with antifertility activity.
In this study the antifertility activity of iso-Propyl and iso-Butyl derivatives of dihydropridine were evaluated.
Methods: The two aforementioned compounds were administered subcutaneously in (10 mg/kg/day) dose to male rats. The animals were treated and kept according to the TUMS committee recommendations on ethical and animal maintenance considerations. Sixty days after the first injection the following fertility and histological indices were evaluated, animal’s body weight difference (B.W.D), sperms motility, sperm viability, ESR (epididymal sperm reserve), DSP (daily sperm production), serum testosterone concentration, fertility index, GSI (gonado somatic index).
Histological indices are respectively the area and circumference of seminiferous tubules, each testis and their crosswise dissections, the diameter of seminiferous tubules and the number of seminiferous tubules per square millimeter, that were determined.
Results: The values of the two test groups were determined and compared with the results of normal group that were using normal saline only and the blank that were receiving propyllenglycol only.
Conclusion: The significant inhibitive activity of candidate compounds on animal's physiologic indices were in accordance of our pervious estimation of compounds activity as (lead compound) for synthesis and preparation of new compounds with male contraceptive activity
Barzegar M, Talaei Zavareh Sa, Salami M,
Volume 68, Issue 10 (1-2011)
Abstract
Background: Numerous evidences indicate that various environmental stresses during
pregnancy affect physiological behavior of the offspring. This experimental
study was designed to investigate the effect of noise stress during prenatal
period of rats on spatial learning and memory and plasma corticostrone level in
postnatal life.
Methods: Three groups of pregnant rats were given daily noise stress with durations of
two and/ or four hours in last week of pregnancy period. The fourth group was
left unstressed. The male offspring from the unstressed and different stressed
groups were assigned as controls and stressed groups. The animals were
introduced to a spatial task in Morris water maze 4
trials/day for five consecutive days. The probe test was performed on the 5th day of the experiment. The delay in findings and the distance passed to locate
the target platform were assessed as the spatial learning.
Results: Our results showed that prenatal exposure to noise stress for two and/ or four
hours a day, leads to impaired acquisition of spatial learning in the postnatal
animals. The plasma level of corticostrone in the two stressed groups of rats
markedly matched with their behavioral function. Prenatal exposure to 1-
hour noise stress revealed no effects on the offsprings' behavior and plasma
corticostrone level.
Conclusion: Based on our study results, it seems that applied range of stress which is
executed through the noise stress could increase the plasma corticostrone level
and could decrease spatial learning and memory of adult male offspring.
Derakhshanian H, Marjanmehr Sh, Ghadbeigi S, Rahimi N, Mostafavi Sa, Hosseinzadeh P, Salehpour A, Dehpour Ar,
Volume 71, Issue 1 (4-2013)
Abstract
Background: Biliary cirrhosis is a chronic disease marked by the progressive destruct-tion of liver. There is no known cure for this disease however, medications may slow its progression. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of quercetin as a plant derived flavonoid on the hepatic injury reduction of biliary cirrhotic rats.
Methods: Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 6-7 months were randomized into three groups of ten each. One group served as control (sham operated), while the other two groups underwent a complete bile-duct ligation (BDL). Four weeks after the opera-tion, serum bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine amino-transferase (ALT), and aspartate amino-transferase (AST) were measured in two BDL groups to confirm the occurrence of cirrhosis. Then one of the BDL groups received placebo and the other one injected intraperitoneally with 50mg/kg of quercetin once a day for a period of four weeks. At the end of the study, hepatic enzymes and serum bilirubin were measured again. Liver species were tested for histological characteristics.
Results: Quercetin could decrease serum level of bilirubin (7.4±0.9 vs. 8.9±1.6 mg/dL P<0.05), ALP (1387±76.9 vs. 2273±65.3 IU/L P<0.001) and ALT (601.9±38.1 vs. 644.8±37.4 IU/L P<0.05) compared to cirrhotic group. AST was higher in cirrhotic groups compared to control both in the 4th and 8th week. However, the difference between BDL and BDL+Q groups was not statistically significant. Quercetin decreased ALT/AST ratio, as an indicator of liver damage. No significant histological changes were observed in quercetin group.
Conclusion: These data suggest that although quercetin did not change histological characteristics of liver, it could significantly decrease bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase and alanine amino-transferase, indicating less liver injury.
Seyed Homayoon Sadraie , Fatemeh Rezaei , Mahnaz Azarnia , Gholamreza Kaka , Soheila Jahani , Zahra Shabani ,
Volume 71, Issue 9 (12-2013)
Abstract
Background: Aspirin is the drug of the century, and is a multifunctional drug and one of the most prescribed drugs in the world. Aspirin is a safe drug at low doses but also it has life-threatening side effects when administered at high doses. This study investi-gates the effects of aspirin on renal cortical and medullary tissue in rat embryos.
Methods: In this study, 30 pregnant female rats were randomly divided into 6 groups. Control group with no intervention, sham group received 2 ml distilled water (as a sol-vent of aspirin) received from days 8 to 20 of pregnancy, and four experimental groups received different doses of 75, 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg of aspirin by gavage. Pregnant rats were sacrificed on the twenty days of pregnancy and the fetuses were removed. Weight of the fetuses and placenta and Crown-Rump length were measured. Fetal kid-neys were fixed in formalin processed, sectioned and stained with Hematoxylin- Eosin. Thickness of renal cortical and medullary tissue by using a Motic hardware and soft-ware system were measured and recorded. A significance level of 0.05 was predeter-mined for all statistical analyses.
Results: No apparent fetal anomalies were observed in experimental groups. In addi-tion, no significant differences were shown in the mean of fetal weight, placental weight, mean of Crown-Rump length in experimental groups 75, 200 and 300 mg/kg compared to control and sham groups. Mean fetal and placental weight in experimental group 100 significantly increased compared to control and sham groups. Mean ratio of renal cortex to renal medulla in experimental group 75, 100 and 300 were significantly decreased compared to control and sham groups (respectively P= 0.03, P= 0.013, P= 0.03).
Conclusion: It seems that maternal use of aspirin during pregnancy can not cause fetal abnormalities. However, it can cause some changes in renal cortical and medullary tis-sue of rat embryos.
Bahareh Habibi , Behjat Seifi , Hamidreza Sadeghipour Roud-Sari, Ali Akbar Amir Zargar , Seyed Mohammad Hossain Noori Mugahi ,
Volume 71, Issue 12 (3-2014)
Abstract
Background: Varicocele is a dilated vein of the pampiniform plexus that cause to det-rimental time-dependent effects so this study describes the effect of varicocele on the level of IL-6 and interferon gamma in serum and testis tissue, number of sertoli and spermatogonia cells, seminiferous tubules diameter and sperm activity in immature rats.
Methods: Thirty six immature rats, 5-6 weeks aged were investigated in this study. The sham groups underwent sham operation and varicocele groups underwent partial liga-tion of the renal vein. Serum, testis and sperm samples were collected at 9, 11, and 13 weeks after induction of varicocele or sham operation to evaluate histological parame-ters (seminiferous tubules diameter, number of sertoli and spermatogonia cells), per-centage of sperm motility and viability and levels of cytokines. Testicular morphology was evaluated.
Results: Varicocele significantly caused an increase in serum and testis IL-6 and inter-feron gamma, compared to related sham groups and previous varicocele groups (P<0.05). Varicocele significantly caused decreases in sertoli cells and spermatogonia cells number with increasing varicocele time, compared to related sham groups and previous varicocele groups (P<0.05). In the evaluation of seminiferous tubules diameter external, internal and epithelium diameter were decreased compared to sham related groups and previous varicocele groups. In all varicocele groups, all kind of sperm motility and viability decreased compared to the related sham-operated groups (P<0.05). Varicocele had deteriorating effects on testis tissue because our observations in varicocele groups demonstrated that the external, internal and germinal epithelium height was reduced by the time and in the evaluation of testicular cells, sertoli and spermatogonia cells number were decreased by the time compared to sham related groups and previous varicocele groups.
Conclusion: This study suggests varicocele had a detrimental time-dependent effect on cytokines levels and decrease in sertoli and spermatogonia cells number, seminiferous tubules diameter and sperm indices.
Mohammad Mashayekhi , Daryoush Mohajeri , Mohammad Reza Valilu,
Volume 72, Issue 5 (8-2014)
Abstract
Background: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most frequent oral cancer. Protec-tive effects of the consumption of vegetables and fruits on various forms of cancer in-cluding oral cancer have been determined. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) because of its lycopene and bioflavonoids contents possesses anti-carcinogenic properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the preventive effects of tomato pulp on pre-neoplastic changes induced by 4-Nitroquinoline-1-oxid (4-NQO) in epithelial cells of lingual mucosa in the rats.
Methods: Forty-eight male Wistar rats were randomly allocated into four equal groups. Group 1 served as control. Groups 2 to 4 assigned to receive 30 ppm 4-NQO in drinking water for 12 consecutive weeks. When the feeding of 4-NQO was started to the rats of groups 3 and 4, they received tomato pulp (20 and 40 ml/kg bw) daily through the oral gavage. Finally, histological evaluations for carcinogenesis were performed for tongues epithelial tissue.
Results: There were no pathological alterations in epithelial tissue of lingual mucosa in control rats. In the epithelial cells of lingual mucosa of 4-NQO treated rats, premalig-nant alterations appeared after 12 weeks of the last application of the drug. Administration of tomato pulp at both doses (20 and 40 ml/kg bw) during the experiment reduced the severity of the lesions, as well as caused a significant reduction in the frequency of pre-neoplastic lesions of tongue epithelial cells (P= 0.024 and P= 0.008). The incidence of severe epithelial cells dysplasia of lingual mucosa in the high dose treatment group was significantly smaller than of low dose treatment group (P= 0.037).
Conclusion: The results obtained showed that tomato pulp is effective in inhibiting the development of neoplasms in epithelial cells of lingual mucosa induced by 4-NQO in the rat.
Arezo Nahavandi , Fatemeh Bakhtiarzadeh , Mansureh Soleimani ,
Volume 72, Issue 11 (2-2015)
Abstract
Background: Depression, as one of the most prevalent and disabling disorders in the world, has a complex and yet not well-known pathophysiology. Genetic, hormonal, neurotransmitter, inflammatory and neurodegenerative theories are all responsible. Studies show that depression leads to structural changes in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, amygdala, anterior cingulate, and basal bodies. Hippocampal volume loss is observed due to the death of nerve cells, neurons, and glial cells, and reduced neurogenesis. The hippocampus is a part of the limbic system. The limbic system is the area in the brain that is associated with memory, emotions, and motivation. The limbic system is located just above the brain stem and below the cortex. Despite the many studies related to the reduced hippocampal neurogenesis in depressed patients, no study has compared the amount of neurodegeneration between the left and right hippocampus. In this study, we compared neurodegeneration levels in the right and left hippocampus of the rats.
Methods: Twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats that were purchased Razi Institute, Karaj, Iran, were evaluated in the study. This study was conducted in cellular and molecular center in Iran University of Medical Sciences, from June 2012 to June 2013. Half of them had unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS) for 21 days to develop depression. The forced-swimming test (FST) was used to measure the immobility time (IB), a symptom of depression. One week after the behavioral test, the rats were prepared for transcardial perfusion. Then, paraffin fixed brain was excised and the hippocampus was prepared for Nissl staining. All above-mentioned procedures were performed for the control group too except inducing UCMS.
Results: Our results increased IB in the UCMS group, 68.8 second in stress group and 15.1 second in control group. Nissl staining showed prominent neural degeneration in the hippocampus of the rats in the UCMS group. Comparison of the left and right hippocampal cells revealed that the right hippocampus (mean= 49.166) was more vulnerable to stress than the left hippocampus (mean= 76.6).
Conclusion: Our study showed different manifestations of depression after UCMS. It showed that UCMS could lead to mental depression. This study showed that the right hippocampus was more sensitive to stress than the left hippocampus. In fact, UCMS resulted in depression. The study showed that the right hippocampus was more sensitive to stress than the left hippocampus. Therefore, the main function of the right hemisphere, which is adaptation to the new environment, is disturbed more.
Noorahmad Latifi , Navid Rezvani , Mohammad Javad Fatemi , Majid Nourian , Shirin Araghi , Tooran Bagheri,
Volume 73, Issue 11 (2-2016)
Abstract
Background: Graft survival has been considered the major problem in reconstructive surgery. Clinical studies have helped us to understand the role of PRP in increasing skin survival. Our goal in this study was to examine the treatment effects of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) on autologous full thickness skin graft survival in male rats.
Methods: This experimental study was performed on 36 rats of Sprague-Dawley race with weighing approximately 250 to 300 gr on May 2015 in animal laboratory of Hazrat Fatima Hospital. After anesthesia, rats were divided into 3 groups. We injected platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in the first group, platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) in the second and saline in the third group after removing the skin. Microscopic analysis was performed with camera (Canon powershot SX200, Tokyo, Japan) on days 7, 14, 21 and 28 after surgery. We used image analysis system (ImageJ, ver. 1.45) to examine necrosis and survival rate. Samples were studied with H&E staining on day 28 microscopically for histological analysis of vascular density and angiogenesis.
Results: Our findings showed the area of necrosis in animals injected with PRP on days 7 and 14, was meaningfully less than control group (P= 0.0001). There was no meaningful difference between control and PRP groups (P> 0.05). The area of necrosis in animals injected with PRF did not have any significant difference with control group from beginning to 21st day (P< 0.0001). there was no meaningful difference in vascular density between control and PRP group, whereas in animals injected with PRF the vascular density was significantly less than control group (P= 0.002).
Conclusion: According to our results in this study, we can conclude that using autologous PRP can enhance the process of healing soft tissue injury and be affective at increasing graft survival. This method is suggested to be conducted for patients highly at risk of graft loss and also for those who are in need of early treatments.
Mohammad Molavi , Rasoul Yousefi Mashouf , Mohammad Yousef Alikhani , Hassan Mahmoudi , Alireza Zamani , Fariba Keramat , Sara Soleimani Asl ,
Volume 75, Issue 6 (9-2017)
Abstract
Background: Brucellosis is a systemic infection caused by gram-negative coccobacilli and facultative intracellular bacteria of the genus brucella. Brucellosis is a bacterial disease common to humans and livestock. Infection with Brucella spp. continues to pose a human health risk globally despite strides in eradicating the disease from domestic animals. The humoral and cellular immunity plays an important role in brucellosis. The effect of phagocytosis and cellular immunity has been demonstrated in brucellosis. The effect of cupping as a therapeutic method on bacterial diseases has been demonstrated. By considering this fact that cupping is an effective method on host immune system functions and has potential effect to regulate the inflammatory reactions.
Methods: This experimental study was carried out on 48 rats in 6 groups (48 rats were divided into 6 groups) during the first 6 months from January 2015 to July 2016 in the laboratory of microbiology and animal of Hamedan University of Medical Sciences. The rats were infected through the injection of Brucella melitensis with plenty 5×105 (cfu/ml) of bacteria. After a week, in order to approve the accuracy of the infection in the studied rats inoculated with coombos Brucella melitensis, Wright test, 2-Mercaptoethanol test and Coombs' Wright test were used. The rats were then treated with cupping method in their sacral area. IFN-γ was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. And the study of tissues using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) Staining.
Results: The results of this study showed that cupping leads to an increase in the mean serum level of interferon-gamma. The histopathological study of liver tissue showed that the radial arrangement was not observed in the infected group with brucellosis and the cells were acidophilus. While, the radial arrangement was observed in treated rats with cupping, but it was not complete. The number of enlarged sinusoids were reduced. But, cell infiltration was observed.
Conclusion: This study showed that cupping can increase serum level of IFN-γ, and thus help to the clearance of disease and improvement of injury in the brucellosis animals lab.
Mohammad Mehdi Saghafi, Mohammad Javad Fatemi , Tooran Bagheri , Mohammad Hasan Hablolvarid, Mitra Niazi, Mohsen Saberi, Shirin Araghi ,
Volume 75, Issue 11 (2-2018)
Abstract
Background: Burns is a major health problem due to severe side effects and limited financial resources. Some herbs are cheap and available, such as Arnebia euchroma can be effective treatment of burn wounds and reduce recovery time. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Arnebia euchroma ointment on healing of deep second-degree burn wound in rats.
Methods: This experimental study was conducted in animal laboratory of Hazrat Fatemeh Hospital in 2015, Tehran. In this study 24 male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing approximately 300 to 350 g were selected. After general anesthesia, back of each rat was shaved with clipping device. Then second-degree burn with the area of 2×4 cm was induced on them. Rats were randomly divided into 2 groups, 12 in each. The surface of the wound in the first group was covered with Arnebia euchroma ointment and in the second group with Vaseline. Dressing was done daily until complete recovery and the wound healing process was monitored by photographing every five days. On day 20, the samples were sent for pathological evaluation of the amount of collagen and inflammatory cells.
Results: Results showed that, during days from 5 to 15 the extent of the wounds reduced in both groups (P= 0.000). The reduction of wound size was significantly higher in Vaseline group compared to Arnebia euchroma ointment group (P= 0.040). The results of the pathological examination showed no significant difference in the amount of collagen and inflammatory cells in the two groups.
Conclusion: It seems Arnebia euchroma ointment to some extent reduced the extent of the wound especially in superficial burns compared to other dressings. However, it is better to conduct more similar studies with a larger sample size and different method and change in timing of dressing.
Fatemeh Marvi Samavarchi , Masoud Fereidoni , Ali Moghimi ,
Volume 77, Issue 6 (9-2019)
Abstract
Background: Animals have an internal biological clock with melatonin hormone that helps them to adapt to light/dark circles. Since melatonin is associated with an alteration in the expression and production of opioid receptors, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of changes in the light/dark circles on pain sensation in rats.
Methods: This research study in order to investigate the thermal and chemical pain sensation using tail flick and formalin tests, 35 Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups of seven animals, including 24 hours of light (24L), 16 hours of light / 8 hours of darkness (16L/8D), 12 hours of light / 12 hours of darkness (control), 8 hours of light / 16 hours of darkness (8L/16D) and 24 hours of darkness (24D) were tested. The study was conducted at the Department of Biology of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, from April to September 2015. Also besides the Rotarod test was performed to determine the general motor activity of animals.
Results: In the tail flick test, an increase in the time of darkness elevated the threshold of thermal pain and subsequently resulted in analgesic effect in the 24 hours of darkness (24D) group (P=0.03), while reducing the dark period in the group of 16 hours of brightness / 8 hours of darkness caused a reduction in the threshold of thermal pain, resulting in hyperalgesia (P=0.002). In the formalin test, the chemical pain score at the end of the chronic phase was significantly increased in the experimental group of 16 hours of brightness / 8 hours of darkness compared to control, indicating hyperalgesia (P=0.03).
Conclusion: Perhaps, alterations in light duration may change the production of melatonin and opioids and their receptors. Therefore, it is expected that reduction of the duration of darkness and thus shortening the period of increased production of melatonin and the subsequent lower expression of opioid receptors, in this group, resulting in a lower thermal pain threshold and analgesic response.
Maria Zahiri , Khalil Pourkhalili , Sadegh Darvishi , Hossein Heydari , Zahra Akbari,
Volume 77, Issue 10 (1-2020)
Abstract
Background: Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA) is a type of blue-green algae and contains a source of biological compounds. These microalgae have many beneficial health effects. Recently, fucoidan, known sulfated polysaccharide component of AFA algae, has been claimed to stimulate stem-cell mobilization in animal models. Stem cells play an essential role in tissue repair process. In this study, we use excisional full thickness wound model to investigate the effectiveness of trademark AFA extract on skin wound repair process.
Methods: In this experimental study, 21 adult male Wistar rats (weighing 200-250 g) were used and under general anesthesia (intraperitoneally with a ketamine/xylazine solution), two round excisional wounds were created under sterile conditions by a 6 mm punch on the dorsum (paravertebral area) of all rats. Animals were randomly assigned into 3 groups. In groups 1 and 2 (SE-200, SE-400), StemEnhance© (StemTech Health Sciences Inc. British Columbia, Canada) were given respectively 200 or 400 mg/kg by oral gavage once daily and in group 3 (Sham), distilled water (DW) was given to all subjects. Post-wounding gavage of StemEnhance or DW started from 1st day and continued to 7th day. The wound surface area was monitored daily by digital camera and assessed by Image Tool™ software, version 3.5 (UTHSCSA, San Antonio, TX, USA). At 9th day post-wounding animals were sacrificed and repaired tissues were harvested by and assessed by a 8 mm punch. Repaired skin areas were processed for hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). Histopathological parameters of healing including inflammatory cell infiltration, angiogenesis, and fibroblast count were assessed by pathologist. Our study was conducted in the Physiology Department of Medical School, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Iran, from October 2016 to March 2016.
Results: Macroscopic imaging of wound area revealed that there was statistically significant difference in wound area reduction between SE-200 group and sham group on day 6 post wounding (P=0.032). Moreover, histological findings showed that the number of neutrophils, macrophages, fibroblasts, and microvessel density decreased in both StemEnhace-treated groups. There were no significant differences between two treatment groups.
Conclusion: According to the obtained results it seems that the extract of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae algae positively affects wound healing process by ameliorating inflammatory response in early healing phases.
Majid Gholipour , Mastaneh Seifabadi , Mohammad Reza Asad ,
Volume 77, Issue 11 (2-2020)
Abstract
Background: Skeletal muscle mass, which is regulated by a balance between muscle protein synthesis and degradation, is an important factor for movement to meet everyday needs, especially in pathological conditions and aging. The purpose of the present investigation was to compare the alterations of the gene expression involved in muscle protein synthesis and degradation signaling pathways induced by two exercise training protocols.
Methods: Eight weeks old Wistar rats have been assigned to the present experimental study, which was conducted from August 2018 to October 2018 at the animal laboratory of Tehran University. They were randomly divided into two resistance and endurance training groups and one control group, and run on a treadmill, 5 sessions per week for 8 weeks. 48 hours after the last exercise session, the rats in the two groups were anesthetized, and the dissected soleus muscles from euthanized animals were stored at -80° for RT-PCR and Western blot analysis later. Between-group differences were analyzed by the parametric and non-parametric tests for normally and non-normally distributed data respectively, at the significance level of α˂0.05.
Results: Compared with the control group, mTORC1 gene expression was increased significantly just in the endurance group (P=0.022), whereas both endurance and resistance exercise protocols caused a significant increase in Rps6kb1 (P˂0.001 and P=0.001 respectively). In protein degradation pathway, although, FOXO3a did not alter significantly (P=0.463), eIF4Ebp1 gene expression was inhibited by both endurance and resistance exercise training protocols (P˂0.001 and P=0.001 respectively). The alterations of Rps6kb1 and FOXO3a gene expression were confirmed by Western blot analysis.
Conclusion: The results showed that the exercise training protocols of the present study had approximately similar effects on alterations of gene expression involved in skeletal muscle protein synthesis and degradation pathways. Therefore, application of the protocols may be considered to prevent or reduce the muscle atrophy in pathological conditions such as motor neuron disease, aging, and/or muscle strength improvement in athletes.
Razieh Mohammad Jafari , Farahnaz Jazaeri ,
Volume 78, Issue 2 (5-2020)
Abstract
Background: Hepatic encephalopathy is defined as a neuropsychiatric brain dysfunction in acute or chronic liver failure. Infection and inflammation have crucial role in its pathophysiology. The purpose of our study was to demonstrate the relationship between toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression and the encephalopathy induced with endotoxin in biliary cirrhotic rats.
Methods: The present study was conducted experimentally on male adult Wistar albino rats from May to January 2018 at the Pharmacology Department of Medical Faculty, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. The animals were divided into two groups, cirrhotic vs sham-operated. Cirrhosis was induced by surgical ligation of the bile duct in male Wistar rats but in sham group the bile duct was not ligated during abdominal surgery (control). The animals in each group were divided to two subgroups that half of them were given intraperitoneally saline or low dose of endotoxin (0.1 mg/kg) on day 29. Then animal behavior study was done on the clinical sign of hepatic encephalopathy. Also, the histopathology of brain cortex and the expression of brain cortex toll-like receptor four protein were evaluated.
Results: Our results showed that endotoxin treatment decreased the patient's level of alertness and produced hepatic encephalopathy signs in cirrhotic rats and control groups. Cirrhosis increases toll-like receptor four expression in brain and acute endotoxin treatment increases toll-like receptor four expression in this group still more. It means that acute endotoxin treatment-induced clinical signs of acute encephalopathy in sham and cirrhotic rats and significant toll-like receptor four overexpression in cirrhotic animals. The histopathological assessment did not show a significant difference between the groups and did not show any changes after induction of cirrhosis and/or acute endotoxin treatment.
Conclusion: Cirrhosis and acute low dose endotoxin injection in cirrhotic rats induced hepatic encephalopathy signs that parallels with significant increased toll-like receptor 4 protein expression in brain cortex. Since the severity of the signs of encephalopathy was the same as intact animals, based on the definitions in pharmacology, in the cells of cirrhotic groups endotoxin tolerance has developed.