Repository of DUTH

MMP2 and TIMP2 in the lung after hepatic ischemia and reperfusion model with apigenin administration (Master thesis)

Τσακίρης, Γεώργιος/ Tsakiris, Georgios

Aim: to investigate whether the antioxidant Apigenin may be protective against lung injury induced by hepatic ischemia and reperfusion. Lung damage was determined by measuring the expression of MMP2 and TIMP2. Materials and Methods: 63 male Wistar rats aged 14-16 weeks and weighing 220-350 gr. were randomly divided into 3 experimental groups: Sham group (S), Control group (C) and Apigenin group (AP). So in group C we had 28 rats that underwent liver ischemia and then reperfusion, in group AP we had 28 rats that underwent liver ischemia - reperfusion and intravenous administered Apigenin and finally the Sham - S group where we had 7 rats that underwent sham surgery. Then the C group and the AP group were each divided into 4 subgroups according to the duration of reperfusion (at 60, 120, 180 and 240 minutes of reperfusion). Results: The expressions of MMP2 and TIMP2 in the lung was null in the Sham group, so the operation itself does not cause any reaction. The occurrence of ALI after hepatic IRI was confirmed by the increased expression levels of MMP2 and TIMP2 in the Control group compared to the Sham group. We observed increased expression of lung MMP2 at time 120 (with a superior value at 240 min) in group C, compared to group S. The protective effect of AP in the lung results from the analysis of MMP2 expression between the C group and the AP group, i.e. in the C group it increases and shows a very strong positive correlation (positive sign in the γ value) while in the AP group it decreases and shows a strong negative correlation (negative sign in the γ value). It also seemed that there is a time-dependent effect of AP, which results from the expressions of MMP2 between the different time points of reperfusion in the AP group. The metalloproteinase inhibitor TIMP2 cannot yield a reliable statistical correlation, but it certainly follows the trend of MMP2 expression and possibly has a role in lung tissue repair in the AP group. Conclusions: The results document that the intravenous administration of Apigenin has a protective effect on the lung, against hepatic ischemia-reperfusion.