Review Article

Associations of Oxidative Stress and Postoperative Outcome in Liver Surgery with an Outlook to Future Potential Therapeutic Options

Table 3

Studies investigating the role of oxidative stress/ROS during liver resection (animal studies).

ReferenceYearBiomarkersStudy subjectsResults

Battal et al. [42]2015MDA, GSH, GST, GSH-Px, SOD24 Wistar albino rats
Group controls
Group with 70% hepatectomy
Group with 70% administration of GLP-1 analogue 2 times a day
MDA: group 1 ↓, group 2 ↑,
GSH, GST, GSH-Px, SOD: group 1 ↑, group 2 ↓,
Beyer et al. [43]2008Dihydroethidine (fluorescent dye that intercalates into DNA upon oxidation)NRF2 knockout mice (reduced cytoprotective enzymes resulting in oxidative stress) versus wild-type miceNRF2 knockout mice showed stronger nuclear fluorescence than wild-type animals
Drefs et al. [47]2017GSSG/GSH as indirect measure of glutathione peroxidase activity60 male C57BL/6 wild-type mice divided into 3 I/R groups (60 min of ischemia, 90 min reperfusion) and 3 corresponding sham groups
Baicalein administered intraperitoneally 30 minutes before laparotomy; controls received an equal volume of either the vehicle (DMSO) or saline
Pretreatment with Baicalein increased intrahepatic glutathione peroxidase activity significantly; sole application of DMSO also elevated the activity level, although not statistically significant
Florholmen-Kjær et al. [44]2016GSH12 pigs: 6 PHx with 60% hepatectomy, 6 controls
Haga et al. [49]2014roGFPMale homozygous db/db mice
Lean mice (=control)
OS occurred in db/db mice immediately after PH, peaked at 30 minutes, and remained elevated for at least 8 hours; a significant difference between controls and db/db mice was shown
Hori et al. [33]2014MDA, SOD, CAT40 Lewis rats
Group controls
Group 60% hepatectomy
Group liver transplant
Group split orthotopic liver transplant
MDA: group 2, 3, and 4;
SOD: group 2, 3, and 4;
Catalase: group 2, 3, and 4;
Mosbah et al. [45]2014MDA, SOD, CAT25 male Sprague-Dawley rats
Sham mobilization but no hepatectomy; standard hepatectomy without prior mobilization; protocol like sham with following hepatectomy; clamping of the entire hepatic pedicle ( ischemia, 5 min reperfusion) with following hepatectomy; lobes to be resected were mobilized and clamped ( ischemia, 5 min reperfusion) with following hepatectomy
MDA: after hepatectomy ↑ in PH, NCPH, TCPH, and RPH compared with the sham group; , all with peaks at 24 h; RPH also increased but without a peak and with a faster decrease
SOD and catalase: levels decreased in all groups compared to the sham group; the lowest levels are found in TCPH and the highest levels in RPH
Riehle et al. [41]2014GSHGclm and Gclm (wild-type = control) mice
2/3 PH was performed on 8-10-week-old males
Baseline GSH levels of Gclm mice are about 15% of wt mice and Gclm mice maintained low GSH levels after 2/3 PH, whereas wt mice showed a 2-fold increase of GSH levels during the early phase of regeneration
Gclm mice showed a delayed peak in cell proliferation compared to wt mice
Saito et al. [46]2014MDA, SOD, CAT, GSH-PHx50 Wistar rats
Group with hepatectomy pretreatment
Group 5 without GTE hepatectomy
MDA: group 2, equal by day 7
SOD, CAT, GSH-PHx: group 2, SOD is equal by day 7

CAT: catalase; DMSO: dimethyl sulfoxide; Gclm: glutamate cysteine ligase; GSH: glutathione; GSH-Px: glutathione peroxidase; GSSG: oxidized glutathione disulfide; GST: glutathione transferase; GTE: green tea extract; MDA: malondialdehyde; PH: partial hepatectomy; roGFP: reduction-oxidation-sensitive green fluorescent protein; SOD: superoxide dismutase.