Abstract
Background Despite its vast spectrum of clinical usage, cyclophosphamide
(CP) exerts many adverse impacts, including hepatotoxicity. Antioxidant
properties of ghrelin might protect the liver from CP-induced toxicity. The
current study aimed to assess the protective impacts of ghrelin on CP-induced
liver toxicity.
Methods Forty male mice were randomly divided into four groups
(n=10) Group 1 as control received no intervention,group 2 received
cyclophosphamide (CP) (100 mg/kg, i.p.) for five weeks and once
a week. Group 3 received CP+ghrelin (CP+G),
(80 µg/kg daily, i.p.) for five weeks. Group 4 received
ghrelin with above-mentioned dose. At the end of the experiment, the mice were
sacrificed to remove liver tissuesfor histological and biochemical
examination.
Results Malondialdehyde (MDA) level increased after CP treatment but
ghrelin administration significantly decreased the level of MDA
(P<0.05). Measurement of the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) noted a
significant decrease in the CP group against the control group (P<0.05).
Ghrelin treatment in the CP+G group considerably increased the TAC
activity when compared to the CP group (P<0.05). Histological
examinations also confirmed the hepatocyte necrosis, local bleeding and
inflammation, vacuolation, and sinusoidal dilation in the CP group, ghrelin
administration reduced the destructive effects of CP on the liver significantly
(P<0.05).
Conclusion Our results reveal the hepatoprotective effect of ghrelin
against CP. Therefore, ghrelin might be useful in protecting the body against
the adverse impacts of injuries induced by chemotherapeutic drugs.
Key words
Cyclophosphamide - Ghrelin - liver - Mice
