|
Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz
ISSN: 1678-8060 EISSN: 1678-8060
Vol. 96, No. 3, 2001, pp. 343-348
|
Bioline Code: oc01050
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge
|
|
Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Vol. 96, No. 3, 2001, pp. 343-348
en |
Effect of Interferon-a on Experimental Septal Fibrosis of the Liver - Study with a New Model
Marcia Maria de Souza; Raymundo Paraná; Christian Trepo; Aryon A Barbosa Jr; Irismar Oliveira & Zilton A Andrade
Abstract
Interferon-a is used in antiviral therapy in humans, mainly for viral hepatitis B and C. An anti-fibrotic effect of interferon has been postulated even in the absence of anti-viral response, which suggests that interferon directly inhibits fibrogenesis. Rats infected with the helminth Capillaria hepatica regularly develop diffuse septal fibrosis of the liver, which terminates in cirrhosis 40 days after inoculation.
The aim of this study was to test the anti-fibrotic effect of interferon in this experimental model. Evaluation of fibrosis was made by three separate methods: semi-quantitative histology, computerized morphometry and hydroxyproline measurements. Treatment with interferon-a proved to inhibit the development of fibrosis in this model, especially when doses of 500,000 and 800,000 IU were used for 60 days. Besides confirming the anti-fibrotic potential of interferon-a on a non-viral new experimental model of hepatic fibrosis, a clear-cut dose-dependent effect was observed.
Keywords
interferon-a, hepatic fibrosis, Capillaria hepatica
|
|
© Copyright 2001 Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz Fiocruz Alternative site location: http://memorias.ioc.fiocruz.br
|
|