Protective effects of taurine on liver and kidney injury induced by intestinal ischemia-reperfusion in rats

Objective To study the protective effects of taurine on liver and kidney injury induced by intestinal ischemia-reperfusion(I/R) in rats.Methods Male Wistar rats were randomly assigned into Sham,I/R,and taurine groups.Thirty min before operation,2% taurine(200 mg/kg) was injected via dorsal vein of the rat′s penis.Intestinal ischemia-reperfusion was produced by occlusion of superior mesenteric artery for one hour later,then the blood flow was restored by removing the clamps.Blood samples were taken from rats in I/R and taurine groups at 1.5,3,6 and 12h after reperfusion,and the serum levels of ALT,AST,BUN and Cr were measured to evaluate the functions of liver and kidney.Tissues from livers and kidneys were cryostated and stained with hematoxylin and eosin to observe changes in histological pathology.TUNEL was also performed to examine apoptotic cells and the average light density levels were measured.Results The serum levels of ALT,AST,BUN and Cr in I/R group were significantly higher than those in Sham group(P0.05),reached peak 3h after reperfusion,but were still higher than control even 12h after reperfusion.Histological staining showed severe injury in livers and kidneys in I/R groups.More TUNEL-positive cells and higher average light(density) levels were observed in I/R group,compared to Sham group(P0.05).However,compared with(I/R) group,taurine treatment significantly reduced the serum levels of ALT,AST,BUN and Cr,attenuated the(pathological) injury,and decreased the numbers of apoptotic cells and average light density levels of livers and(kidneys).Conclusions Taurine has protective effects on the injury of the liver and kidneys induced by intestinal(ischemia)-reperfusion in rats.