Liver growth factor treatment reverses vascular and plasmatic oxidative stress in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Liver growth factor (LGF) is an albumin-bilirubin complex with antioxidant actions in vitro. In spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), short LGF treatment exerts antihypertensive and antifibrotic effects.

We aimed to determine if LGF treatment (4 i.p. injections, 4.5 μg/rat over 12 days) reduces oxidative stress in SHRs using Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) as control strain. We assessed the following: plasma oxidative stress biomarkers [protein-bound malondialdehyde (MDA); protein carbonyls and advanced glycation end products (AGEs)]; superoxide anion basal production in carotid artery-derived vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) detected by dihydroethidium and confocal microscopy; and expression (western blot) and activities (spectroscopic methods) of NADPH and xanthine oxidases, CuZn, Mn and extracellular superoxide dismutases (SODs) and catalase in carotid arteries.

LGF treatment had the following effects: reversed the increase in plasma MDA and protein carbonyls and VSMC superoxide anion levels observed in SHRs, without any effect on WKY strain; reversed the alterations in SHR vascular p22phox expression as well as NADPH oxidase, xanthine oxidase and catalase activities; had no effect on vascular CuZn-SOD and Mn-SOD expression or total SOD activity; and reversed the elevation in SHR vascular glycated/free extracellular-SOD expression ratio and plasma glucose without changes in plasma AGEs.

LGF treatment of SHRs normalizes the level of plasma oxidative stress biomarkers through a reduction of vascular superoxide anion produced by NADPH and xanthine oxidases. These effects might be linked to the cardiovascular regenerative actions of LGF.