Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026
Partial Bile Duct Ligation in the Mouse: A Controlled Model of Localized Obstructive Cholestasis
Published on: March 28, 2018
Amphibian peptides prevent endotoxemia and bacterial translocation in bile duct-ligated rats
Andrea Giacometti1, Oscar Cirioni, Roberto Ghiselli
1Institute of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
Objective:
To investigate the efficacy of amphibian antimicrobial peptides in preventing bacterial translocation and neutralizing endotoxins in bile duct-ligated rats.
Design:
Prospective, randomized, controlled animal study.
Setting:
Research laboratory in a university hospital.
Subjects:
Adult male Wistar rats.
Interventions:
Adult male Wistar rats underwent sham operation or bile duct ligation (BDL). Eight groups were studied: sham operation with saline treatment, sham operation with 120 mg/kg tazobactam-piperacillin, sham operation with 2 mg/kg uperin 3.6, sham operation with 2 mg/kg magainin2, BDL with saline treatment, BDL with 120 mg/kg tazobactam-piperacillin, BDL with 2 mg/kg uperin 3.6, and BDL with 2 mg/kg magainin2.
Measurements And Main Results:
Main outcome measures were: endotoxin and tumor necrosis factor-alpha concentrations in plasma and evidence of bacterial translocation in blood, peritoneum, liver, and mesenteric lymph nodes. Endotoxin and tumor necrosis factor-alpha plasma levels were significantly higher in BDL rats compared with sham-operated animals. All amphibian peptides achieved a significant reduction of plasma endotoxin and tumor necrosis factor-alpha concentration when compared with saline- and tazobactam-piperacillin-treated groups. On the other hand, both tazobactam-piperacillin and peptides significantly reduced bacterial growth compared with the control. Tazobactam-piperacillin and magainin2 exerted the maximal inhibition of bacterial growth.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, because of their multifunctional properties, amphibian peptides could be interesting compounds to inhibit bacterial translocation and endotoxin release in obstructive jaundice.
