Biochemical and immunohistochemical analysis of orotic acid-induced fatty liver

Orotic acid-induced fatty livers were examined by biochemical and immunohistochemical approaches. Lipid peroxide levels by the thiobarbituric acid method and glutathione-peroxidase (GSH-PO) activity in the liver homogenates from orotic administered rats were similar to those of controls. Immunohistochemical localization of GSH-PO in orotic acid-induced fatty liver was mainly observed in the portal zone of the hepatic lobules. This staining pattern of GSH-PO was similar to that of the controls. No remarkable changes in GSH-PO staining patterns were detected in orotic acid-induced fatty liver. Our data strongly suggested that no lipid peroxidation is actively involved in the genesis of fatty liver due to the administration of orotic acid, and GSH-PO a protective enzyme against lipid peroxidation, was not inhibited by orotic acid-induced fatty liver.