Protective effect of the combined use of L-carnitine and L-arginine against hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats

Abstract

Background: Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) can be mainly caused by oxidative stress, decreased nitric oxide (NO) level, activation of hepatic Kupffer cells, neutrophils adhesions, increased level of intercellular adhesion molecules, and inflammatory process. Aim: Studying the ability of L-carnitine (LC) and L-arginine (LG) to protect the liver cells against the damage caused by IRI. Methods: This study was carried out on 40 male Wistar albino rats which were divided into 5 groups; shamoperated, hepatic IRI, IRI rats pretreated with L-carnitine, IRI rats pretreated with Larginine, IRI rats pretreated with both substances. Results: The pretreatment with LC and LG separately protected the liver cells against IRI damage with preservation of liver functions by significantly improving the oxidative stress and inflammatory states, increasing NO level, decreasing the expression of vascular adhesion molecules in liver tissue, and protecting the liver cells from the damage. It was obvious that LC effects were more significant on all the tested parameters except on the NO level where the LG effect was more significant. Moreover, the combined use of both LC and LG produced a highly significant improvement of all the tested parameters approaching near the control level than that observed by their separate use. Conclusion: The combined use of both LC and LG could effectively protect the liver cells from the harmful effects of IRI.