BACKGROUND: Renal failure in cirrhotic patients is a severe complicationand endotoxemia might be involved. We investigated the effect of endotoxin on renal function of cirrhoticrats and the potential protective role of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) VSports手机版. MATERIAL/METHODS: Hepatic cirrhosiswas generated in a rat model by carbon tetrachloride. Both cirrhotic and normal rats were insulted byendotoxin intravenously, while another cirrhotic group was pre-treated with NAC. Blood urea nitrogen(BUN) and creatinine were assayed eight hours later. The changes in serum tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a)were assayed by ELISA. The histological changes in the kidney were observed after hematoxylin and eosinstaining. RESULTS: Endotoxin increased the BUN and creatinine levels in both normal and cirrhotic rats,with a much higher elevation in the latter group. TNF-a concentration was also increased by endotoxin;the changes are positively correlated with BUN and creatinine. NAC pretreatment significantly attenuatesthe effects of endotoxin on BUN, creatinine and TNF-a levels in cirrhotic rats with no improvement insystemic toxicity symptoms. There were no obvious histological changes in the kidney of these animals. CONCLUSIONS: Hepatic cirrhosis increased the sensitivity of renal function to endotoxemia, which maybe protected by NAC.

Keywords: Acetylcysteine, Endotoxins, Kidney, Liver Cirrhosis