Published online Jan 28, 2008. doi: 10.3748/wjg.14.590
Revised: September 10, 2007
Published online: January 28, 2008
AIM: To investigate the protective effect of target suppression of uncoupling protein-2 (UCP-2) on ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in fatty liver in ob/ob mice.
METHODS: Plasmids suppressing UCP-2 expression were constructed, and transfected into fatty liver cells cultured in vitro and the ob/ob mouse I/R injury model. Serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels, UCP-2 mRNA expression, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels in ob/ob mice were tested, and the pathological changes in fatty liver were observed in experimental and control groups.
RESULTS: In ob/ob mouse I/R models, serum TNF-α levels were significantly higher than in normal controls. After the plasmids were transfected into the cultured cells and animal models, expression of UCP-2 mRNA was significantly reduced as compared with that in the control group (21.56 ± 0.15vs 2-0.45 ± 0.15, P < 0.05). In ob/ob mouse models, in which expression of UCP-2 was suppressed, serum ALT levels were significantly lower than those of other groups, and pathological analysis revealed that injury of liver tissues was significantly alleviated.
CONCLUSION: The target suppression of UCP-2 expression in fatty liver can alleviate the I/R injury in the ob/ob mice.