Liver necrosis induced by acute intraperitoneal ethanol administration in aged rats

It is generally agreed that the deleterious pathophysiological effects of ethanol are caused, at least partially by an increase in free radical production. However, little attention has been directed to the effects of ethanol upon elderly organisms. Male Wistar rats at ages 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months were treated either with a single i.p. dose of 35% ethanol (v/v) at 3 g ethanol/kg body weight or an isovolumetric amount of 0.9% saline solution. We then assessed the plasma levels of transaminases and hepatic levels of oxidative stress-related parameters, followed by liver histological evaluation. The younger rats (3 months old) were not affected by the treatment with ethanol with respect to any of the studied parameters except for a lowering of total hepatic GSH and an increase in hepatic thiobarbituric acid reactants (TBARS) formation, while animals older than 3 months were increasingly more affected by the treatment. Acute ethanol treatment elicited the similar responses to those in the 3 months-old group, plus a decrease in the hepatic and plasma levels of beta-carotene and the plasma level of alpha-tocopherol, as well as an increase in the activity of plasma transaminases. In the 12,18 and 24 months old groups, there was increasing liver necrosis. These findings suggest that liver damage induced by acute ethanol administration in elderly rats may involve a lack of antioxidants.     

Enhancement of lindane-induced liver oxidative stress and hepatotoxicity by thyroid hormone is reduced by gadolinium chloride

The role of Kupffer cells in the hepatocellular injury and oxidative stress induced by lindane (20 mg/kg; 24h) in hyperthyroid rats (daily doses of 0.1 mg L-3,3',5-triiodothyronine (T3)/kg for three consecutive days) was assessed by the simultaneous administration of gadolinium chloride (GdCl3; 2 doses of 10mg/kg on alternate days). Hyperthyroid animals treated with lindane exhibit enhanced liver microsomal superoxide radical (O2.-) production and NADPH cytochrome c reductase activity, with lower levels of cytochrome P450, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase activity, and glutathione (GSH) content over control values. These changes are paralleled by a substantial increase in the lipid peroxidation potential of the liver and in the O2.- generation/ SOD activity ratio, thus evidencing a higher oxidative stress status that correlates with the development of liver injury characterized by neutrophil infiltration and necrosis. Kupffer cell inactivation by GdCl3 suppresses liver injury in lindane/T3-treated rats with normalization of altered oxidative stress-related parameters, excepting the reduction in the content of GSH and in catalase activity. It is concluded that lindane hepatotoxicity in hyperthyroid state, that comprises an enhancement in the oxidative stress status of the liver, is largely dependent on Kupffer cell function, which may involve generation of mediators leading to pro-oxidant and inflammatory processes.     

Late Quaternary vegetation and climate change in the Panama Basin: Palynological evidence from marine cores ODP 677B and TR 163-38

The Late Quaternary paleoenvironmental history from Pacific slopes of the western Andes is reconstructed by pollen analysis of 32 samples from two marine sediment cores from the Panama Basin, eastern equatorial Pacific: core ODP 677B (83°44.2200′ W, 1°12.1440′ N, 3473 m water depth) is 185 cm long and spans the last 39,410 years, core TR 163-38 (81.583° W, 1.337° N, 2200 m water depth) is 103 cm long and covers the last 17,380 years. Six ecological groups were established: mangrove, brackish and fresh water swamps, terra firma lowland forests, broad range taxa, Andean forests, and open vegetation. A good correspondence was found between the changes of these ecological groups in the two cores. The records evidence the continuous presence of all vegetation types during the last 39,410 years and specially the uninterrupted occurrence of tropical rain forest. They record a development from: (1) a cold and humid phase (39,410-28,120 yr cal BP) with moderately high sea levels, (2) the coldest and driest phase in the record (28,120-14,500 yr cal BP) accompanied by the lowest sea levels, (3) a transitional phase when sea level rose and humid conditions dominated, (4) a stage (11,300-5600 yr cal BP) of the highest sea levels and moisture conditions including a drier period ∼7000 yr BP, to (5) a final period (5600 yr cal BP-Present) when sea level reached its present height, humidity persisted, and indicators of disturbance expanded. Peaks in pollen and spore concentration, associated with high river discharge periods, indicate periods of higher precipitation around 33,500, 28,000 and 12,000-9000 yr cal BP. Although main vegetation responses seem to reflect rainfall and moisture variations, a good correspondence was found between δ¹⁸O values and percentages of Andean and lowland pollen, suggesting that vegetation also responded to tempearture changes.