The Effect of Melatonin Hormone on Formaldehyde-Induced Liver Injury: A Light Microscopic and Biochemical Study

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate histological and biochemical changes in the livers of formaldehyde exposed rats and possible effects of melatonin hormone on these changes. Materials and Methods: A total of 21 male Wistar-albino rats were divided into three equal groups. Control rats in Group I received 0.9% NaCl alone intraperitoneally (ip), rats in Group II were injected with 10% formaldehyde (10 mg/kg, ip) every other day and rats in Group III received melatonin (25 mg/kg, ip) plus formaldehyde. At the end of 14-day experimental period, all animals were decapitated. The liver tissue samples were processed histologically and analyzed under light microscope. Additionally, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT), xanthine oxidase (XO), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in the liver tissue samples were determined. Results: SOD, GSH-Px, CAT, XO and MDA levels of formaldehyde exposed rats were significantly higher than those of the control group rats. However, these biochemical values of rats treated with melatonin plus formaldehyde were lower than the non-melatonin group. Light microscopic evaluation of liver tissue samples of formaldehyde-exposed rats revealed enlarged sinusoids filled with blood and mononuclear cell infiltration in the portal areas and around the central veins. In addition, some of the hepatocytes showed vacuolar degeneration, and some had a hyperchromatic nucleus. In PAS staining, the hepatocytes around the portal areas were PAS negative. The rats treated with melatonin plus formaldehyde had somewhat fewer histological changes induced by formaldehyde exposure. Conclusion: The liver damage caused by formaldehyde may be partially prevented by melatonin administration. ©2008, Firat University, Medical Faculty

Keywords

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Melatonin Hormonunun Formaldehite Bağlı Karaciğer Hasarı Üzerine Etkisi: Işık Mikroskobik ve Biyokimyasal Bir Çalışma

Öz

Amaç: Bu çalışmada, formaldehite maruz bırakılan sıçanların karaciğerlerinde oluşan histolojik ve biyokimyasal değişiklikler ile melatonin hormonunun bu değişiklikler üzerine olası etkilerinin incelenmesi amaçlandı. Gereç ve Yöntem: Toplam 21 adet erkek Wistar-albino cinsi sıçan üç eşit gruba ayrıldı. Grup I'deki kontrol sıçanlara sadece % 0.9'luk NaCl intraperitoneal (ip) uygulanırken, grup II'deki sıçanlara % 10 formaldehit (10 mg/kg, ip) ve grup III'teki sıçanlara ise formaldehitin yanı sıra melatonin (25 mg/kg, ip) günaşırı olarak enjekte edildi. 14 günlük bir uygulama sürecinden sonra bütün hayvanlar dekapite edildi. Karaciğer doku örnekleri histolojik işlemlerden geçirilerek ışık mikroskop altında incelendi. Ek olarak, karaciğer doku örneklerinde süperoksit dismutaz (SOD), glutatyon peroksidaz (GSH-Px), katalaz (CAT), ksantin oksidaz (XO) ve malondialdehit (MDA) seviyeleri belirlendi. Bulgular: Formaldehite maruz bırakılan sıçanların SOD, GSH-Px, CAT, XO ve MDA seviyeleri kontrol değerlerinden anlamlı derecede yüksekti. Buna karşın, formaldehitle birlikte melatonin uygulanan sıçanların bu biyokimyasal değerleri melatonin uygulanmayan gruba nazaran düşüktü. Formaldehite maruz kalan sıçanların karaciğer doku örneklerinde gerçekleştirilen ışık mikroskobik değerlendirme, içi kan dolu sinüzoidler yanı sıra portal alanlar ve v.centralis civarında mononükleer hücre infiltrasyonunu açığa çıkardı. Ayrıca, hepatositlerin bazıları vakuoler dejenerasyon gösterirken, bazıları da hiperkromatik çekirdeğe sahipti. PAS boyamada, portal alanlara yakın hepatositler PAS negatifti. Melatonin ve formaldehitin birlikte uygulandığı sıçanlarda formaldehite bağlı histolojik değişiklikler nispeten daha az gözlendi. Sonuç: Formaldehitin neden olduğu karaciğer hasarı melatonin uygulamasıyla kısmen önlenebilir. ©2008, Fırat Üniversitesi, Tıp Fakültesi

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Karaciğer, Formaldehit, Melatonin, Oksidatif Stres, Işık Mikroskop

Kaynakça

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44. Kabul Tarihi:23.01.2008