The effects of pegylated interferon-[alpha] and ribavirin on liver and serum concentrations of activin-A and follistatin in normal Wistar rat: a preliminary report

Activin-A and follistatin regulate the liver and the immune system. To measure the effects of treatment with pegylated-interferon-[alpha] (Peg-IFN-[alpha]) and ribavirin on the concentrations of mature activin-A and follistatin in serum and liver tissue homogenates in rats. A total of 28 male Wistar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC research notes 2015-06, Vol.8 (1)
Main Authors: Refaat, Bassem, El-Shemi, Adel Galal, Ashshi, Ahmed Mohammed
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological response modifiers
Health aspects
Interferon
Liver
Physiological aspects
Ribavirin
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Summary:Activin-A and follistatin regulate the liver and the immune system. To measure the effects of treatment with pegylated-interferon-[alpha] (Peg-IFN-[alpha]) and ribavirin on the concentrations of mature activin-A and follistatin in serum and liver tissue homogenates in rats. A total of 28 male Wistar rats were divided equally into four groups as follow: 'Control group' (n = 7), 'PEG only group' consisted of those that only received a weekly injection of Peg-IFN-[alpha] (6 [micro]g/rat) for 4 weeks, 'RBV only group' received ribavirin only (4 mg/rat/day) orally for 35 days and the last group received both Peg-IFN-[alpha] and ribavirin 'PEG & RBV group'. The concentrations of candidate proteins in serum and liver samples were measured using ELISA. Pegylated-interferon-[alpha] decreased activin-A and increased follistatin significantly in serum and liver of 'PEG only' and 'PEG & RBV' groups compared with the 'Control' and 'RBV only' groups (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the 'RBV only' and 'Control' groups (P > 0.05) in the concentrations of candidate proteins. A significant positive correlations between serum and liver activin-A (r = 0.727; P = 0.02 x 10.sup.-3) and follistatin (r = 0.540; P = 0.01) was also detected. Pegylated-interferon-[alpha] modulates the production of activin-A and follistatin by the liver, which is reflected and can be detected at the serum level. Further studies are needed to explore the role of Peg-IFN-[alpha] based therapy on the production of activins and follistatin by the liver and immune cells.
ISSN:1756-0500
1756-0500
DOI:10.1186/s13104-015-1253-2