Abstract: Objective To study the role of osteopontin (OPN) during hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (HI/RI) in rats. Methods The rats were divided into sham operation group (sham) and ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) 6, 12 and 24 h groups, with 6 rats in each group. HE staining was used to observe the morphological changes of liver tissue. The levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in plasma, the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in liver tissue were measured by colorimetric method. The expression of OPN mRNA in liver tissue was determined by RT-qPCR. The content of OPN in liver tissue was determined by ELISA. Results Compared with the sham group, HE staining showed obvious degeneration and necrosis of hepatocytes after I/R, which was most obvious in the I/R 24 h group. The plasma levels of AST and ALT increased, most significantly at I/R 12h(P<0.01). The content of MDA in liver tissue increased, and the activity of SOD decreased, which was most significant at I/R 24 h(P<0.01). The expression of OPN mRNA in liver tissue was significantly increased in I/R groups(P<0.01). OPN content was also significantly increased in I/R 24 h group(P<0.05). Conclusions OPN is involved in the pathogenesis of HI/RI in rats and is a potential indicator applied in the evaluation of liver injury.

Key words: osteopontin, hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury, oxidative stress