ABSTRACT
Background: Exercise has various effects on hepatic and pancreatic function. There is little information available for effects of exercise on histopathological changes in the liver and pancreas. Objective: Investigate the effect of intensive exercise on blood biochemical changes and histopathology in rat liver and pancreas. Materials and methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups: 1 (normal control): no exercise, 2 (exercise 75% VO2max): running on treadmill at 75% VO2max and sacrificed immediately after exercise, 3 (exercise 75% VO2max+6 hours): running on treadmill at 75% VO2max and sacrificed at six hours after exercise, 4 (exercise 90% VO2max): running on treadmill at 90% VO2max and immediately sacrificed after exercise, 5 (exercise 90% VO2max+6 hours): running on treadmill at 90% VO2max and sacrificed at six hours after exercise. Samples of blood, liver and pancreas were collected at the end of each experiment. Results: The levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) increased significantly in group 2 and 4, compared with normal control. Serum total bilirubin (TB) and enzyme lipase increased significantly in group 4 compared with normal control. In all group of exercise, liver histopathology showed hepatocyte edema and necroinflammation, and pancreas showed congestion and edema. Conclusion: High-intensity exercise at 75% and 90% VO2max caused an increase of biochemical parametes in liver and pancreas. The levels of exercise also caused histopathology changes in the liver and pancreas.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Prove the attenuated effects of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on oxidative stress in rats with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). MATERIAL AND METHOD: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups. Group I (normal control) was fed regular dry rat chow (RC) for 6 weeks. Group 2 (NASH) was fed 100% fat diet for 6 weeks. Group 3-5 were fed 100% fat diet for 6 weeks, and then switched to RC alone (NASH + diet ; group 3), to RC + 20 mg/kg/day of NAC orally (NASH + diet + NAC20; group 4) or to RC + 500 mg/kg/day of NAC orally (NASH + diet + NAC500; group 5) for 4 weeks, respectively. They were sacrificed to collect blood and liver samples at the end of the present study. RESULTS: Levels of total glutathione (GSH), serum cholesterol, and hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) were increased significantly in the NASH group compared with normal control. Liver histopathology from group 2 showed moderate to severe macrovesicular steatosis, hepatocyte ballooning, and necroinflammation. Treatment with diet or diet plus NAC reduced the levels of GSH, cholesterol, and hepatic MDA back to normal. Liver sections from group 3-5 showed a decrease in fat deposition and necroinflammation in hepatocytes. However, no differences on all variables existed between diet alone and diet plus NAC groups. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that diet or diet plus NAC treatment could attenuate oxidative stress and improve liver histopathology of NASH. However the addition of NAC is not better than diet treatment alone.