Summary
We recently demonstrated that antithrombin (AT) reduces ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced
liver injury in rats by increasing hepatic tissue levels of calcitonin gene-related
peptide (CGRP),a neuropeptide released from the sensory nerve endings. In the present
study, we examined the effect of AT on I/Rinduced liver injury in wild type mice (CGRP+/+) and congenitally αCGRP-deficient mice (CGRP−/−). We also investigated any effects of AT on CGRP release from dorsal root ganglion
neurons (DRG) isolated from CGRP+/+. Based on results obtained in the present study, we attempted to determine if the
anti-inflammatory activity of AT in vivo is dependent mainly on sensory neuron activation. AT enhanced ischemia/reperfusion-induced
increases in hepatic tissue levels of CGRP and 6-keto-PGF1α
, a stable metabolite of PGI2, in CGRP+/+, but it did not enhance these increases in CGRP−/−. AT inhibited reperfusion-induced increases in serum alanine aminotransferase levels
by increasing hepatic tissue blood flow and by attenuating increases in hepatic levels
of tumor necrosis factor and myeloperoxidase in CGRP+/+,although it showed neither of these therapeutic effects in CGRP−/−. AT increased CGRP release from cultured DRGs only in the presence of anandamide,
and AT-induced increase in CGRP release was not observed in the presence KT5720, an
inhibitor of protein kinase A (PKA).AT markedly increased intracellular levels of
cAMP in the presence of anandamide. These results strongly suggest that AT might reduce
I/R-induced liver injury by enhancing activation of the sensory neurons through activation
of PKA in sensory neurons.
Keywords
Antithrombin - capsaicin-sensitive sensory neurons - calcitonin gene-related peptide
- liver injury - protein kinase A