Melatonin-Selenium Nanoparticles Protects Liver Against Immunological Injury Induced by Bacillus Calmette-Guérin and Lipopolysaccharide1
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Acta Pharmacologica Sinica 2005 Jun; 26 (6): 745–752 Full-length article Melatonin-selenium nanoparticles protects liver against immunological injury induced by bacillus Calmette-Guérin and lipopolysaccharide1 Hua WANG, Wei WEI3, Sheng-yi ZHANG2, Yu-xian SHEN, Ni-ping WANG, Li YUE, Shu-yun XU Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China; 2Department of Chemistry, Anhui University, Hefei 230039, China. Key words Abstract melatonin; selenium; liver; superoxide Aim: Melatonin-selenium nanoparticle (MT-Se), a novel complex, was synthe- dismutase; glutathione peroxidase; nitric sized by preparing selenium nanoparticles in a melatonin medium. The present oxide; tumor necrosis factor; interleukin-1 investigation was designed to determine the protective effects of MT-Se against immunological liver injury in mice induced by bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)/ 1 Project supported by the Key Project of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Methods: The model of immunological liver injury in the Natural Science Foundation of the Department of Education, Anhui Province mice was prepared. The levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate amino- (No 98JL0130Z). transferase, nitric oxide (NO) in serum, malondialdehyde content, superoxide 3 Correspondence to Prof Wei WEI. dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-px) activities in a liver homo- Phn 86-551-516-1208. E-mail [email protected] genate were assayed by spectrophotometry. The content of tumor necrosis fac- tor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) were determined by ELISA. The splenocyte Received 2004-11-19 proliferation was assayed by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetra-zolium Accepted 2005-02-05 bromide (MTT) dye reduction. Meanwhile, a hepatic pathological examination doi: 10.1111/j.1745-7254.2005.00110.x was observed. Results: In the BCG/LPS-induced hepatic injury model, MT-Se administered at doses of 5, 10, or 20 mg/kg to the BCG/LPS-treated mice for 10 d significantly reduced the increase in serum aminotransferase, reduced the severe extent of hepatic cell damage and the immigration of inflammatory cells. It also attenuated the increase in the content of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances and enhanced the decrease in activities of SOD and GSH-px. In contrast, the treatment with MT-Se suppressed the increase in NO level in both the serum and liver tissue. Furthermore, MT-Se significantly lowered an increase in TNF-α and IL-1β levels in the liver and inhibited the production of TNF-α and IL-1β by peritoneal macrophages. A downregulation effect of MT-Se on splenocyte prolif- eration was also observed. Conclusion: MT-Se showed a hepatic protective action on immunological liver injury in mice. Introduction known that Propionibacterium acnes or BCG priming and Hepatic damage, both acute and chronic, is a common LPS challenge in mice causes massive liver injury, which pathology worldwide quite often characterized in its chronic consists of priming and eliciting phases. P acnes or BCG evolution by a progressive process from steatosis to hepa- priming induces mononuclear cell infiltration into the liver tocellular carcinoma through chronic hepatitis, fibrosis, and lobules and granuloma formation. The subsequent LPS in- cirrhosis. The main etiology is represented by viral infec- jection elicits acute and massive hepatic injury, with a host tions (HBV, HDV, and HCV) and alcohol abuse[1]. The injec- release of reactive oxygen species, nitric oxide (NO) and pro- tion of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) followed by li- inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor α popolysaccharide (LPS) is useful for the creation of experi- (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β)[3-5]. mental models of immunological hepatic damage[2]. It is Melatonin participates in many important physiological ©2005 CPS and SIMM 745 Wang H et al Acta Pharmacologica Sinica ISSN 1671-4083 processes, including anti-inflammatory[6] and immunoregu- Materials and methods latory[7] processes, as well as acting as an antioxidant[8,9]. It Preparation of melatonin-selenium nanoparticle MT- not only functions as a direct antioxidant; that is, as a scav- Se was prepared by reducing selenious acid with ascorbic enger of various oxygen free radicals including hydroxyl acid in the presence of melatonin. In a synthetic process, radical, singlet oxygen, hydrogen peroxide (H O ) and peroxyl 2 2 the appropriate amount of selenious acid (the water solution radical, but it also functions as an indirect antioxidant through of SeO ) was thoroughly mixed with melatonin. Then exces- the enhancement of antioxidant enzyme activities in tissues 2 sive ascorbic acid was added into the selenious acid/melato- such as the liver and the brain. Furthermore, melatonin also nin mixture to initiate redox reaction[15]. neutralizes ONOO– and inhibits the production of NO. In After the reaction mixture was mixed for approximately 30 addition, our and other published reports have shown that min, the product showing light red was obtained. In the melatonin protects against liver injury through its antioxi- reaction process, melatonin molecules could be strongly ab- dant action[10,11]. sorbed on the surface of nascent selenium seeds. Melato- Selenium (Se) is an essential element for humans and can nin not only served as a seed growth controller, but also pre- improve the activity of the seleno-enzyme and glutathione vented selenium nanoparticles from congregating. Trans- peroxidase (GSH-px), and can also prevent free radicals from mission electron microscopy (TEM) images of the product, damaging cells and tissues in vivo. One of its best-under- as shown in Figure 1, were captured on a JEOL-JEM 200CX stood functions is that it is present in the active center of instrument (JEOL Company, Japan) at an accelerating volt- GSH-px, an antioxidant enzyme that scavenges various per- age of 100 kV. From the image, it can be seen that uniform oxides and protects membrane lipids and macromolecules spherical selenium nanoparticles were produced. The final from oxidative damage[12]. The supplementation of food with product prepared for medicine application was the complex selenium is usually limited to selenium-containing com- made up of 95% melatonin, 1% elemental selenium, and 4% pounds, such as sodium selenite (Na SeO ), ebselen, and 2 3 ascorbic acid/dehydroascorbic acid. It was dissolved with other organoselenium compounds. However, several stud- absolute ethanol and then stabilized and suspended briefly ies have been focused on the elemental selenium (Se0). It is in 0.5% carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) before use. currently known that gray and black elemental Se is biologi- Materials MT-Se, provided by the Department of cally inert. However, there is one kind of red elemental par- Chemistry, Anhui University, was dissolved with absolute ticulate selenium, observed in several bacteria, which could provide environmental protection from pollution caused by excessive selenium[13]. These elemental selenium particles are formed in the bacteria to detoxify the excess selenium. In the work of Zhang et al[14], it was found that selenium nanoparticles had a higher bioavailability, much less acute toxicity and better scavenging effect compared with organic and other inorganic selenium-containing compounds. In the present paper, based on the antioxidant and immunoregulatory actions of melatonin and elemental sele- nium nanoparticles, we combined selenium nanoparticles with melatonin in order to obtain useful materials for medication. Melatonin-selenium nanoparticle (MT-Se), a novel complex, was synthesized by preparing selenium nanoparticles in melatonin medium. In this study, the mechanisms of the protective effects of MT-Se on immunological liver injury Figure 1. Transmission electron microscopy images of melatonin- induced by BCG plus LPS were investigated. selenium nanoparticles. 746 Http://www.chinaphar.com Wang H et al ethanol and then stabilized and suspended briefly in 0.5% toxylin and eosin and examined under light microscope CMC. Melatonin, purchased from Sigma Chemical (St Louis, (Olympus IX70, Japan). An experienced histologist, who MO, USA), was suspended in 0.5% CMC with absolute etha- was unaware of the treatment conditions, made histological nol (≤0.01%, v/v) and stored at -20 ºC. LPS from Escherichia assessments. coli were obtained from Sigma Chemical. Commercial kits Measurement of malondialdehyde, SOD, and GSH-px used for determining lipid peroxidation (TBRAS), GSH-px in liver homogenate Lipid peroxidation production in the and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were obtained from liver tissue was determined by measuring thiobarbituric acid- the Jiancheng Institute of Biotechnology (Nanjing, China). reactive substances (TBARS)[16]. TBARS were measured Other chemicals used in these experiments were analytical using the thiobarbituric acid method, with 1,1,3,3-tetra- grade from commercial sources. methoxypropane as a standard. Hepatic protein was assayed Animals Male Kunming mice (20±2 g), obtained from the by the method of Lowry et al using bovine serum albumin as Animal Department of Anhui Medical University, were main- a standard[17]. The amount of TBARS was expressed as nmol tained on a 12 h light/12 h dark cycle from 6:00 AM to 18:00 malondialdehyde (MDA)/mg protein. The assay for total PM under a regulated environment (20±1 ºC). Animals were SOD was based on its ability to inhibit the oxidation of housed in plastic cages with free access to food and water. oxymine by the xanthine-xanthine oxidase system[18]. Re- All procedures