Role of lipid peroxidation in biliary obstruction in the rat.

There is poor evidence about the participation of lipoperoxidative processes in liver damage induced by biliary obstruction, thus the aim of this work was to study the role of lipid peroxidation in this model of liver injury. Biliary obstruction was induced in male Wistar rats by ligation of the common bile duct; control animals were sham operated. Rats were sacrificed at different times after surgery. Liver sections were used for glycogen and lipoperoxidation quantification. Markers of liver damage were determined in serum. All serum markers of liver damage increased after 1 day of biliary obstruction. Liver glycogen content decreased 1 day after surgery. On the other hand, lipoperoxidation increased later than markers of liver damage, suggesting that it is a consequence rather than the cause of liver injury. Moreover, administration of colchiceine (a good free-radical scavenger) or vitamin E prevented lipoperoxidation but not liver damage, confirming that lipoperoxidation does not play an important role in liver damage induced by biliary obstruction. This model of liver injury seems to be useful for testing hepatoprotective drugs that do not act as free-radical scavengers.