Protection against carbon tetrachloride hepatotoxicity by oleanolic acid is not mediated through metallothionein.

Oleanolic acid is a triterpenoid compound that has been shown to protect against liver injury produced by some hepatotoxicants. This study was designed to characterize the protective effects of oleanolic acid on carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity, and the role of metallothionein in the protection. Oleanolic acid pretreatment (100-400 micromol/kg, s.c.) protected Sprague-Dawley rats and mice from carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury in a dose- and time-dependent manner, as evidenced by serum alanine aminotransferase and sorbitol dehydrogenase activities, as well as by histopathology. The protection against carbon tetrachloride hepatotoxicity was not evident until animals were pretreated with oleanolic acid 12 h, and lasted for 72 h after a single injection. This suggests that the protection might be due to induction of some adaptive mechanisms. Metallothionein (MT), an acute-phase protein proposed to decrease carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury, was dramatically induced following oleanolic acid treatment. To examine whether oleanolic acid protection is mediated through MT, MT-I and II knock-out (MT-null) mice were utilized. Oleanolic acid pretreatment increased MT levels in control mice (20-fold), but not in MT-null mice, however, it protected equally against carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity in both control and MT-null mice. These data indicate that oleanolic acid is effective in protecting rats and mice from the hepatotoxicity produced by carbon tetrachloride, and the protection is not mediated through induction of MT.