Bile duct ligation and oxidative stress in the rat: effects in liver and kidney.

In the liver, seven days of bile duct ligation (BDL) decreases the cytochrome P-450 content and the UDP-glucuronyl transferase activity. Also, a decrease in the water soluble antioxidant mechanism reflected in the activities of the enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and the glutathione peroxidase (GTPx) was found in the liver but not in the kidney. Despite an increase in the amount of the GSH in the liver, increased lipid peroxidation is produced in the BDL rats, as indicated by the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA). The kidney responded in a different way to cholestasis, decreasing only the UDP-glucuronyl transferase activity and increasing the levels of GSH and MDA. In the red blood cells the activity of the antioxidant enzymes SOD, GTPx and catalase and the content of GSH were not modulated by cholestasis. In conclusion, disturbance of the oxidant-antioxidant balance might be responsible for cholestatic liver injury and impaired renal function in BDL rats.