Abstract |
alpha-lipoic acid (alpha-LA) is an antioxidant used in a number of conditions related to liver diseases. Herein, we investigated the effect of alpha-LA on the development of rat pre-neoplastic lesions generated by a model of hepatocarcinogenesis, which has similarities in its histopathological sequence to human hepatocellular carcinoma development with cirrhosis. Initiation of hepatocytes was achieved by treatment with a single dose of diethylnitrosamine and promotion by feeding a choline- methionine-deficient diet (CMD), with or without alpha-LA. Pre-neoplastic lesions were identified by their positivity to the placental form of glutathione S-transferase (GSTP) or to gamma glutamyl transpeptidase. alpha-LA given to rats fed a CMD for 6 weeks dramatically increased the number of GSTP-positive foci as compared with rats fed a CMD alone (96/cm(2) versus 7/cm(2)), the mean foci area (0.033 versus 0.008 mm(2)) and the percentage of GSTP-positive liver tissue (3.01 versus 0.07%). Essentially similar results were obtained after 10 weeks of treatment. Co-treatment with CMD + alpha-LA also resulted in the enhancement of fat accumulation, lipid peroxidation and hepatocyte death; increased expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, cytochrome 2E1 and cyclooxygenase-2, enhanced activation of c-jun N-terminal kinase and signal transducer activator of transcription 3, and chronic hepatocyte proliferation was also observed. No such effects were observed when alpha-LA was added to a choline-supplemented diet. In conclusion, administration of alpha-LA in conditions associated with hepatic damage aggravates liver injury and stimulates the development of pre-neoplastic lesions; the results also suggest caution in its use in the presence of chronic liver injury.
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Authors | Andrea Perra, Monica Pibiri, Pia Sulas, Gabriella Simbula, Giovanna Maria Ledda-Columbano, Amedeo Columbano |
Journal | Carcinogenesis
(Carcinogenesis)
Vol. 29
Issue 1
Pg. 161-8
(Jan 2008)
ISSN: 1460-2180 [Electronic] England |
PMID | 17893235
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
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Chemical References |
- Antioxidants
- Thioctic Acid
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Topics |
- Animals
- Antioxidants
(pharmacology)
- Cell Death
- Choline Deficiency
(pathology)
- Lipid Peroxidation
- Liver Neoplasms
(enzymology, metabolism, pathology)
- Precancerous Conditions
(enzymology, metabolism, pathology)
- Rats
- Thioctic Acid
(pharmacology)
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