Protein deficiency and muscle damage in carbon tetrachloride induced liver cirrhosis.

Protein undernutrition, alterations of hormones such as IGF-1, testosterone and cortisol, and increased lipid peroxidation-which may be related with deranged metabolism of some elements such as iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), selenium (Se) or copper (Cu)-may contribute to muscle damage in non alcoholic cirrhosis. Here, we analyse the effect of protein deficiency on muscle Cu, Fe, Zn, Mn and Se in carbon-tetrachloride (CCl(4)) induced liver cirrhosis. We also study the association between protein undernutrition and these trace elements with the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPX), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and lipid peroxidation products, and how all these are related with muscle morphological changes in 40 male adult Sprague-Dawley rats.

Relative and combined effects of propylthiouracil, ethanol and protein deficiency on liver histology and hepatic iron, zinc, manganese and copper contents.

The present study was performed in order to discern the effects of propylthiouracil (PTU) on ethanol and/or protein deficiency-mediated liver histological changes and liver Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn alterations in male adult Wistar rats. The study was performed on 64 animals divided into eight groups, fed with the Leiber-DeCarli control, 36% ethanol-2% protein- and 36% ethanol-2% protein-containing diets, without and with PTU, respectively. PTU was administered at a concentration of 0.