Dexmedetomidine attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute liver injury in rats by inhibiting caveolin-1 downstream signaling pathway
Authors: Pengtao Song
Jiafeng Song
Feifan Liu
Yonghe Hu
Wenchao Shen
Zhipeng Meng
Fei Tong
Jing Liu
Journal: Bioscience Reports (2021)
Discipline: MOLECULAR BIOLOGY & GENETICS
Keywords: Acute liver injury; Dexmedetomidine; Lipopolysaccharide; NLRP3; TLR-4.
Affiliations: Department of Anesthesiology, Huzhou Central Hospital, Affiliated Central Hospital HuZhou University, Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, Department of Radiology, Huzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital Affiliated to Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Huzhou, Zhejiang, China, Department of Pathology, Huzhou Central Hospital, Affiliated Central Hospital HuZhou University, Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, Department of Anesthesiology, Huzhou Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, China

Abstract:  Objective: The aim of the present study is to investigate the anti-injury and anti-inflammatory effects of dexmedetomidine (Dex) in acute liver injury induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in Sprague-Dawley rats and its possible mechanism. Methods: The acute liver injury model of male rats was established by injecting LPS into tail vein. The mean arterial pressure (MAP) of rats was recorded at 0-7 h, and lactic acid was detected at different time points. Wet/dry weight ratio (W/D) was calculated. Pathological changes of rat liver were observed by HE staining. ALT and AST levels in serum were detected. The activities of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in liver tissue homogenate and the levels of IL-1β and IL-18 in serum were detected by ELISA. Protein levels of Caveolin-1 (Cav-1), TLR-4 and NLRP3 in liver tissue were tested by immunohistochemistry method. The expression of Cav-1, TLR-4 and NLRP3 mRNA in liver tissue was detected by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to explore its related mechanism. Results: Compared with NS group, serum lactic acid, W/D of liver tissue, MPO, SOD, IL-1β and IL-18 were significantly increased and MAP decreased significantly in LPS group and D+L group. However, compared with NS group, D group showed no significant difference in various indicators. Compared with LPS group, MPO, SOD, IL-1β and IL-18 were significantly decreased and MAP was significantly increased in D+L group. D+L group could significantly increase the level of Cav-1 protein and decrease the level of TLR-4 and NLRP3 protein in liver tissue caused by sepsis. The expression of Cav-1 mRNA was significantly up-regulated and the expression of TLR-4 and NLRP3 mRNA was inhibited in D+L group. Conclusion: Dex pretreatment protects against LPS-induced actue liver injury via inhibiting the activation of the NLRP3 signaling pathway by up-regulating the expression of Cav-1 by sepsis. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 The images in Figure 2 appear to have some repeated regions. This may be due to relabeling of these images, but even if this is the case, this would not be considered a best practice. Could the authors please post the original images with the original labeling, if my guess is correct? It makes one wonder if these images were previously published elsewhere, perhaps in a Chinese language journal. *** ![file] , 
 The authors have been vindicated, and the problem was the fault of the publisher (or rather, an external vendor working for the publisher. See the Correction, [2 June 2021] : --------------------------- This article is being corrected following notification from one of our readers alerting Bioscience Reports to duplicated sections within Figure 2 panels A-D. The Editorial Office contacted the authors and were provided with original images and raw data which did not contain the areas of concern raised by the reader. Following investigation by the Editorial Office, it was identified that the version of files accepted for publication on 8 February 2021 did not contain the image duplications that were identified post-publication. It has since been discovered that the duplications were introduced by an external production vendor during the production process prior to publication in order to achieve a coherent image style (i.e. modification of panel labelling within a figure), and thus first appeared in the Version of Record published by Bioscience Reports on 26 March 2021. ![file] The correct version of Figure 2 as originally submitted by the authors and present in the accepted manuscript are included in this Correction. The Editorial Office apologises to both the authors of this paper and readers that such duplications were introduced. Immediate workflow changes have taken place within our production processes to prevent such errors occurring in the future. ,