Hyperbilirubinemia Protects against Aging-Associated Inflammation and Metabolic Deterioration

Figure 3

Hyperbilirubinemia protects from inflammation, senescence, and mitochondrial dysfunction in aged rats. Hyperbilirubinemic Gunn rats and their normobilirubinemic siblings aged 12–18 months were evaluated for serum levels of (a) leptin, (b) tumor necrosis factor α, (c) interleukin 1β, (d) interleukin 18, and (e) interleukin 10; (f) intravenous glucose tolerance test; hepatic mRNA expressions of (g) p21 and (h) p16; and their isolated liver mitochondria were subjected to measurement of (i) respiration and (j) production of H₂O₂. N = normobilirubinemic rats and G = Gunn rats; –10 in each group for each measurement; pairwise comparison with -test or Mann-Whitney rank sum test; significantly different from N; .

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