Protective effects of cerium oxide nanoparticles in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and carbon tetrachloride-induced liver damage in rats: Study on intestine and liver

Ebrahim Abbasi; Seyed Alireza Vafaei; Nima Naseri; Ali Darini; Masoumeh Taheri Azandaryani; Farhad Kian Ara; Fatemeh Mirzaei

doi:10.1016/j.metop.2021.100151

Protective effects of cerium oxide nanoparticles in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and carbon tetrachloride-induced liver damage in rats: Study on intestine and liver

Metabol Open. 2021 Nov 18:12:100151. doi: 10.1016/j.metop.2021.100151. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Authors

Ebrahim Abbasi¹, Seyed Alireza Vafaei², Nima Naseri¹, Ali Darini³, Masoumeh Taheri Azandaryani⁴, Farhad Kian Ara⁵, Fatemeh Mirzaei⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
² Department of Biology, Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj Branch, Sanandaj, Iran.
³ Department of Nanotechnology, Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University (IAUPS), Tehran, Iran.
⁴ Department of Neurophysiology Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
⁵ Medical Biology Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
⁶ Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.

Abstract

Background and aims: Nanoparticles could represent a therapeutic approach for the treatment of various diseases. It has been reported that cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO₂ NPs) have potential useful effects. Therefore, we aimed to examine the protective effects of the CeO₂ NPs in two models of liver injury, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄)-induced liver fibrosis, in rats.

Methods: In this experimental study, male rats were randomly divided into different experimental groups including: Experiment 1; group1: healthy rats received normal saline, 2: CCl₄ group, 3: CCl₄ + nanoparticle. Experiment 2; group1: healthy rats received chow diet, 2: NAFLD group, 3: NAFLD + nanoparticle. The oxidative stress markers were determined in the liver and intestine. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels were measured by ELISA. Histopathological changes of liver and intestine were evaluated by light microspore.

Results: Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and glutathione (GSH) levels significantly decreased, while malondialdehyde (MDA) and total oxidant status (TOS) were significantly increased in the liver, and intestine of the NAFLD and CCl₄ group compared with control rats. However, the use of nanoparticles significantly normalized these markers. The levels of the TNF-α were significantly reduced in the nanoparticle group as compared with NAFLD model and CCl₄-treated rats. CeO₂ NPs also normalized the liver and intestinal histological changes.

Conclusions: Our finding revealed that CeO₂ NPs has potential protective effects by increasing antioxidant activity, and reducing inflammation.

Keywords: Carbon tetrachloride; Cerium oxide nanoparticles; Inflammation; Liver injury; Rats.