Simvastatin Reduces Hepatic Oxidative Stress and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Experimental Model

• Published in: Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity Vol. 2019; no. 2019; pp. 1 - 10
• Main Authors: Marroni, Norma Possa, Picada, Jaqueline N., Dias, Alexandre Simões, Di Naso, Fábio Cangeri, Marroni, Cláudio Augusto, Schemitt, Elizângela, Bona, Sílvia, Moreira, Andrea Janz, Rodrigues, Graziella, Pires, Thienne Rocha
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Publishing Corporation 2019; Hindawi; John Wiley & Sons, Inc; Hindawi Limited
• Subjects: Animals; Antilipemic agents; Antioxidants - metabolism; Choline; Choline Deficiency - complications; Diet; Endoplasmic reticulum; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress - drug effects; Enzymes; Gastroenterology; Glutathione Peroxidase - metabolism; Hepatology; Hypotheses; Inflammation - metabolism; Lipids; Liver; Liver - drug effects; Liver - metabolism; Liver diseases; Male; Metabolic syndrome; Methionine - deficiency; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Neurosciences; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - drug therapy; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - etiology; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - metabolism; Obesity; Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Pathogenesis; Physiology; Simvastatin; Simvastatin - therapeutic use; Stress analysis; Superoxide; Superoxide Dismutase - metabolism; Brazil
• DOI: 10.1155/2019/3201873
• ISSN: 1942-0900

Objective. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of simvastatin in the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis induced by methionine and choline-deficient diet in mice and its possible effect on factors involved in the pathogenesis of the disease including oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress. Method. Male C57BL6 mice were fed either a normal diet (control) or a methionine and choline-deficient diet for four weeks and then treated orally with simvastatin (4 mg/kg once a day) for two final weeks. At the end of the experimental period, liver integrity, biochemical analysis, hepatic lipids, histology, DNA damage, biomarkers of oxidative stress, and endoplasmic reticulum stress were assessed. Results. Simvastatin treatment was able to significantly reduce hepatic damage enzymes and hepatic lipids and lower the degree of hepatocellular ballooning, without showing genotoxic effects. Simvastatin caused significant decreases in lipid peroxidation, with some changes in antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase. Simvastatin activates antioxidant enzymes via Nrf2 and inhibits endoplasmic reticulum stress in the liver. Conclusions. In summary, the results provide evidence that in mice with experimental nonalcoholic steatohepatitis induced by a methionine and choline-deficient diet, the reduction of liver damage by simvastatin is associated with attenuated oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress.