Quercetin protects liver injury induced by bile duct ligation via attenuation of Rac1 and NADPH oxidase1 expression in rats

BACKGROUND： Bile duct ligation （BDL） and subsequent cholestasis are correlated with oxidative stress, hepatocellular injury and fibrosis. Quercetin is a flavonoid with antifibrotic, and hepatoprotective properties. However, the molecular mechanism underlying quercetin-mediated hepatoprotection is not fully understood. The current study was to evaluate mecha- nisms of hepatoprotective effect of quercetin in BDL rat model. METHODS： We divided male Wistar rats into 4 groups （n=8 for each）： sham, sham＋quercetin （30 mg/kg per day）, BDL, and BDL＋quercetin （30 mg/kg per day）. Four weeks later, the rats were sacrificed, the blood was collected for liver enzyme mea- surements and liver for the measurement of Racl, Racl-GTP and NOX1 mRNA and protein levels by quantitative PCR and Western blotting, respectively. RESULTS： Quercetin significantly alleviated liver injury in BDL rats as evidenced by histology and reduced liver enzymes. Furthermore, the mRNA and protein expression of Racl, Racl-GTP and NOX1 were significantly increased in BDL rats compared with those in the sham group （P〈0.05）; quercetin treatment reversed these variables back toward normal （P〈0.05）. Another interesting finding was that the antioxidant markers e.g. superoxide dismutase and catalase were elevated in quercetin-treated BDL rats compared to BDL rats （P〈0.05）. CONCLUSION： Quercetin demonstrated hepatoprotective activity against BDL-induced liver injury through increasing antioxidant capacity of the liver tissue, while preventing the production of Racl, Racl-GTP and NOX1 proteins.

Relationship between CD14-159C/T gene polymorphism and acute brucellosis risk

Objective:To investigate the association between the cluster of differentiation 14(CD14)-I59C/T(rs2569190) gene polymorphism and susceptibility to acute brucellosis in an Iranian population.Methods:The study included 153 Iranian patients with active brucellosis and 128 healthy individuals as the control group.Genotyping of the CD 14 variant was performed using an amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction method.Results:The prevalence of CD14-159 TT and CT genotypes were associated with increased risk of brucellosis[odds ratio(OR)=l.993.95%confidence interval(95%CD=1.07-3.71.P=0.03 for CT:OR=3.869.95%CI= 1.91-7.84,P=0.01 for TT genotype.Additionally,the minor allele(T) was significantly more frequently present in brucellosis patients than in controls(61%vs.45%.respectively),and was a risk factor for brucellosis(OR=3.058.95%CI= 1.507-6.315.P=0.01).Condusions:The findings provid suggestive evidence of association of the CDI4-159C/T gene polymorphism with susceptibility to acute brucellosis in the Iranian population.