Changes of Serum Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Level and Blood-brain Barrier Permeability in Mice with Acute Liver Failure

Objective To investigate the changes of serum tumor necrosis factor(TNF)α level and the blood-brain barrier(BBB) permeability in acetaminophen(APAP)-induced ALF.Methods Acetaminophen was used to induce acute liver failure of male Balb/c mice.Serum levels of alanine transaminase(ALT) and TNFα were determined.The liver tissues were fixed for histopathologic analysis.The permeability of BBB was detected by Evans blue staining(EB).Results The mice began to die 4 h after injection of APAP and the mortality rate reached 25% at 6 h.The serum levels of ALT began to increase at 2 h,and reached the peak at 9 h,which was consistent with the changes of liver histopathology,showing massive or submassive necrosis.The level of serum TNFα was significantly increased at 6 h.The concentration of EB in brain tissue also reached the peak at 6 h.Conclusion In APAP-induced ALF,serum TNFα level was obviously increased,which was consistent with the increased concentration of EB in brain tissue.TNFα might be an important cytokine that increased the permeability of BBB in APAP-induced ALF.