Rutin in rat liver ischemia/reperfusion injury: effect on DDAH/NOS pathway

Nitric oxide (NO) plays a key role in the relationship between microcirculatory disorders and I/R injuries. Our results demonstrated a significant modification in the hepatic function of I/R rats compared with the control group; treatment with rutin reported hepatic damage markers to control value. Levels of plasmatic and hepatic thiol groups decreased in the I/R untreated group, and this decrease was inhibited by rutin treatment. In addition, we observed an increase in the iNOS expression in I/R group compared with control and rutin administration attenuated this increase: in post-ischemic reperfused rutin-treated rats there was a significant increase in eNOS expression compared with the I/R untreated group. In the same experimental conditions an increase in DDAH 1 expression was observed in I/R group only; rutin treatment also counteracted this increased expression. These data suggest that rutin treatment could be useful for preventing oxidative damage associated with hepatic post-ischemic reperfusion injury.