N-acetylcysteine attenuates ischemia-reperfusion-induced apoptosis and autophagy in mouse liver via regulation of the ROS/JNK/Bcl-2 pathway.

Background: Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (HIRI) remains a pivotal clinical problem after hemorrhagic shock, transplantation, and some types of toxic hepatic injury. Apoptosis and autophagy play important roles in cell death during HIRI. It is also known that N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has significant pharmacologic effects on HIRI including elimination of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and attenuation of hepatic apoptosis. However, the effects of NAC on HIRI-induced autophagy have not been reported. In this study, we evaluated the effects of NAC on autophagy and apoptosis in HIRI, and explored the possible mechanism involved.

Methods: A mouse model of segmental (70%) hepatic warm ischemia was adopted to determine hepatic injury. NAC (150 mg/kg), a hepatoprotection agent, was administered before surgery. We hypothesized that the mechanism of NAC may involve the ROS/JNK/Bcl-2 pathway. We evaluated the expression of JNK, P-JNK, Bcl-2, Beclin 1 and LC3 by western blotting and immunohistochemical staining. Autophagosomes were evaluated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

Results: We found that ALT, AST and pathological changes were significantly improved in the NAC group. Western blotting analysis showed that the expression levels of Beclin 1 and LC3 were significantly decreased in NAC-treated mice. In addition, JNK, p-JNK, Bax, TNF-α, NF-κB, IL2, IL6 and levels were also decreased in NAC-treated mice.

Conclusion: NAC can prevent HIRI-induced autophagy and apoptosis by influencing the JNK signal pathway. The mechanism is likely to involve attenuation of JNK and p-JNK via scavenged ROS, an indirect increase in Bcl-2 level, and finally an alteration in the balance of Beclin 1 and Bcl-2.