Measurement of oxidant and antioxidant levels in liver tissue obtained from patients with liver transplantation: A case-control study

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to compare oxidant and antioxidant substance accumulation in the liver tissues of patients with chronic liver disease (recipients) who underwent liver transplantation (LT) with living liver donors (LLDs) who underwent living donor hepatectomy (LDH).

Methods: This prospective study included 160 recipients (LT group) and 40 LLDs (LLD group). During surgery, a piece of liver tissue measuring a minimum of 10 × 10 mm was obtained from the edge of the right lobe of the liver of recipients and LLDs, incubated for 10 min in saline to remove blood, and stored at -70 °C until biochemical analysis was performed. Catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD), myeloperoxidase (MPO), prolidase, reduced glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS), oxidative stress index (OSI), total thiol, native thiol, and disulfide levels were measured in stored liver tissues.

Results: There was a statistically significant difference between LT and LLD groups in terms of age (p < 0.001), body mass index (p = 0.019), GSH-Px (p < 0.001), SOD (p = 0.001), MPO (p < 0.001), prolidase (p < 0.001), GSH (p < 0.001), and MDA (p = 0.003) values in favor of the LT group. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant difference between LT and LLD groups in terms of CAT (p < 0.001), TAS (p < 0.001), TOS (p < 0.001), OSI (p < 0.001), total thiol (p < 0.001), native thiol (p < 0.001), and disulfide (p < 0.001) values in favor of the LLD group. There were no differences between the groups in terms of sex.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that it is possible to assess the extent of oxidative stress in liver tissues by measuring the levels of antioxidant enzymes, oxidants, or the end-products of oxidative stress. With the use of optimum and minimally invasive methods, quantifying these molecules will potentially help evaluate the extent of liver disease and prognostication of liver cirrhosis.

Keywords: Liver cirrhosis; Liver recipients; Living liver donors; Oxidant and anti-oxidant balance, oxidative stress.