Protective effect of bicyclol on acute alcohol-induced liver injury in mice

Oxidative stress, cytokine over expression and Kupffer cell activation are well-documented pathological factors in the development of alcoholic liver disease. Bicyclol is a novel synthetic anti-hepatitis drug with anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory property. The present study was to investigate the effect of bicyclol on acute alcohol-induced liver injury and related mechanisms in mice. Bicyclol (200, 300 mg/kg) was given to mice by gavage for three times. Alcohol (6 g/kg) was administered orally 1 h after the last dose of bicyclol. All animals were sacrificed at different time points after alcohol administration. Liver injury was evaluated by biochemical and histopathological examination. Lipid peroxidation and the activity of antioxidants were measured by spectrophotometric method. Expression of cytokines and CD14 were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, reverse transcriptional-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical staining. As a result, bicyclol pretreatment significantly protected against acute alcohol-induced liver injury as evidenced by the decrease of elevated serum alanine aminotransferase and hepatic triglyceride, and the attenuation of histopathological changes in mice. In addition, bicyclol remarkably alleviated the formation of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance and restored impaired antioxidants, including glutathione, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase. Over-expression of cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 1beta, elevated plasma endotoxin level, and up-regulation of CD14 were also suppressed by bicyclol in alcohol-intoxicated mice. The protective effect of bicyclol on alcohol-induced hepatotoxicity was mainly due to its ability to attenuate oxidative stress, suppress the cytokine expression at both protein and gene level, and inhibit the activation of Kupffer cells by decreasing plasma endotoxin level and CD14 expression.