Objective: To observe the effect of resveratrol and propofol, used either alone or in combination, on hepatocyte apoptosis in rats with hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (HIRI).
Methods: A total of 144 male SD rats were randomized into 8 equal groups, including a sham-operated group and 7 HIRI (established using Pringle method) groups with pretreatments with normal saline, Tween80, propofol (10 or 20 mg·kg(-1)·h(-1)), or resveratrol (10 or 20 mg/kg), or both propofol and resveratrol 10 min before hepatic portal vein occlusion. At 1, 3 and 6 h after the reperfusion, 6 rats from each group were sacrificed for histopathological examination of the liver tissue, detection of hepatocyte apoptosis using TUNEL assay, and measurement of Bcl-2, Bax and caspase-3 protein expressions using immunohistochemistry.
Results: Compared with normal saline and Tween80, propofol and resveratrol at different doses used alone or in combination all significantly alleviated the hepatic pathologies, lowered the apoptosis index (P<0.05), increased Bcl-2 expression (P<0.05), and reduced Bax and caspase-3 expressions in the liver tissues following HIRI (P<0.05). Compared with low doses of propofol and resveratrol used alone, their combination showed more obvious protective effects against hepatocyte apoptosis (P<0.05), but at higher doses, propofol and resveratrol either alone or in combination produced similar effects.
Conclusions: Propofol and resveratrol can suppress HIRI-induced hepatocyte apoptosis by up-regulating Bcl-2 and down-regulating Bax and caspase-3 expressions, and their combined use can reduce the effective doses of the drugs.