The effects of erythropoietin on bacterial translocation and inflammation in rats with obstructive jaundice Ann. Ital. Chir., 85, 2, 2014 159 Ann. Ital. Chir., 2014 85: 159-165 pii: S0003469X14018739 Pervenuto in Redazione Gennaio 2012. Accettato per la pubblicazione Marzo 2012 Correspondence to: Assist. Prof. Akin Onder, Dicle University Medical Faculty, Department of General Surgery, 21280, Diyarbakir, Turkey (E- mail: draonder@gmail.com). Akın Onder*, Murat Kapan*, Hatice Yuksel**, Recep Tekin***, Ays ¸erur Kele°, Osman Evliyaoglu°°, Zulfu Arikanoglu* *Department of General Surgery, Dicle University Medical Faculty, Diyarbakır, Turkey **Department of Biochemistry, Obstetrics and Pediatrics State Hospital, Diyarbakir, Turkey ***Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology. Dicle University Medical Faculty, Diyarbakır, Turkey °Department of Pathology, Dicle University Medical Faculty, Diyarbakir, Turkey °°Department of Biochemistry, Dicle University Medical Faculty, Diyarbakir, Turkey The effects of erythropoietin on bacterial translocation and inflammation in rats with obstructive jaundice INTRODUCTION: Obstruction of the common bile duct is associated with hepatic paranchymal damage and increased sus- ceptibility to subsequent bacterial infections. Erythropoietin has antiinflammatory and cytoprotective effects and it induces antiinflammatory cytokines and suppresses the production of proinflammatory cytokines. In this study, we aimed to inves- tigate the effect of Erythropoietin on bacterial translocation, inflammation and tissue damage in rats with obstructive jaundice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-two Wistar albino rats (200-250 g) were divided into 4 groups as follows: Group 1 (Sham); only hepatoduodenal ligament dissection, Group 2 (Erythropoietin); hepatoduodenal ligament dissection and giv- en 500 IU/kg Erythropoietin subcutaneously, Group 3 (Obstructive jaundice); complete hepatoduodenal ligament liga- tion, Group 4 (Obstructive jaundice + Erythropoietin); complete hepatoduodenal ligament ligation and given 500 IU/kg Erythropoietin subcutaneously. After 7 days, the rats were sacrificed by taking blood from the heart for biochemical analy- ses. Peritoneal swab culture, liver, mesenteric lymph nodes, spleen and ileum were collected for microbiological and histopathological examinations. RESULTS: Erythropoietin reduced the secretion of inflammatory cytokines, oxidative damage and bacterial translocation, prevent the formation of inflammatory changes in intestine and liver after obstructive jaundice. Conclusion: The treatment of EPO in rats with OJ reduces bacterial translocation, inflammation and tissue damage. KEY WORDS: Bacterial translocation, Erythropoietin, Inflammation, Obstructive jaundice. Introduction Obstruction of the common bile duct is associated with hepatic paranchymal damage and increased susceptibili- ty to subsequent bacterial infections. The mechanisms of injury caused by cholestasis are unclear. The relationship between oxidative stress as well as lipid peroxidation and cholestatic liver injury has been reported 1 . Also, decreased antioxidative capacity and increased lipid per- oxide levels have been reported in hepatic mitochondria in common bile duct-ligated rats 2 . It has been shown that inflammation contributes cholestatic liver injury by increasing production of proinflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and IL-6 3 . Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous nitric oxide syntheses inhibitor, is synthesized by pro- tein-arginine-methyltransferases on arginine residues of nuclear proteins. Most of free circulating ADMA is pri- marily metabolized by dimethylarginine dimethylamino- READ-ONLY COPY PRINTING PROHIBITED