Yang Ying-Ying, Huang Yi-Tsau, Lin Han-Chieh, Lee Fa-Yauh, Lee Kuei-Chuan, Chau Ga-Yang, Loong Che-Chuan, Lai Chiung-Ru, Lee Shou-Dong
Division of General Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2009 Mar 13;380(3):666-72. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2009.01.160. Epub 2009 Jan 31.
Increased intrahepatic resistance (IHR) within cirrhotic liver is caused by increased endotoxemia, cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), vasoconstrictor thromboxane A(2) (TXA(2)), and disrupted microvasculatures. We evaluated the effects of thalidomide-related inhibition of TNF-alpha upon the hepatic microcirculation of cirrhosis in rats. Portal venous pressure (PVP), hepatic TNF-alpha, expression of thromboxane synthase (TXS), and leukocyte common antigen (LCA) were measured in bile-duct-ligated (BDL) rats receiving 1 month of thalidomide (BDL-thalido rats). Portal perfusion pressure (PPP), IHR, and hepatic TXA(2) production were measured in the isolated liver perfusion system. Intravital microscopy was used to examine hepatic microvascular disruptions. In BDL-thalido rats, PVP, PPP, IHR, hepatic TXA(2) and TNF-alpha, hydroxyproline content, expression of TXS and LCA, and LPS-induced leukocyte recruitment were significantly decreased. Conversely, hepatic microvascular density and perfused sinusoids were significantly increased. Thalidomide decreased PVP and IHR by reducing hepatic TXA(2) and improving hepatic microvascular disruptions in rats with biliary cirrhosis.
