Phospholipid composition of bile and blood in rats under correction of experimental fatty hepatosis

Abstract

To date, the aetiology and molecular mechanisms of the development of fatty hepatosis, which is quite common in mammals, have not yet been sufficiently explained. This pathology requires detailed study not only because of functional disorders of the liver and biliary system, but also because of the high probability of dangerous complications – fibrosis, cirrhosis, or hepatocellular carcinoma. The purpose of this study was to determine marker changes in the phospholipid composition of bile and blood in rats with experimental fatty hepatosis and with the use of corrective therapy. Hepatopathology was modelled in Wistar laboratory rats by intragastric administration of a 4% solution of tetracycline hydrochloride at the rate of 0.25 g/kg body weight for seven days. Using the method of thin-layer chromatography, the phospholipid components of animal bile and blood were studied. It was found that during experimental fatty hepatosis in rats, there was a decrease in the total phospholipid content in bile, mainly due to a decrease in the level of phosphatidylcholine (by 22.4-27.0%), the total fraction of inositol phosphatide and phosphatidylinositol (by 20.0-27.3%), and phosphatidylethanolamine (by 17.5-25.2%). Conversely, the introduction of milk phospholipids in the form of a dietary supplement “FLP-MD” in sick animals contributed to an increase in bile levels of phosphatidylserine by 67.1-99.8%, inositol phosphatide and phosphatidylinositol by 48.6-57.6%, phosphatidylcholine by 38.8-60.2%, phosphatidylethanolamine by 45.6-57.4%, and sphingomyelin by 30.4-46.3%. In the blood of such rats, a significant decrease in the content of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylserine, and sphingomyelin was found, which was not observed after administration of the “FLP-MD” dietary supplement to sick animals. In the case of using the supplement in healthy animals, only a 29.3% increase in the blood content of inositol phosphatide and phosphatidylinositol was noted. The determination of the most sensitive indicators in the phospholipid spectrum of blood and bile reveals the features of changes in molecular processes for the development of fatty hepatosis in animals, and also contributes to preclinical tests of the corrective effectiveness of newly created drugs according to established markers

Keywords

• tetracycline hydrochloride
• thin-layer chromatography
• corrective therapy
• dietary supplement “flp-md”