The effect of nitric oxide on ischemia–reperfusion injury in rat liver

A dual role for nitric oxide (NO) in ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) injury is still controversial. This study aims to investigate the role of NO in rat hepatic reperfusion injury. Ischemia was induced by total occlusion of hepatic artery and portal vein for 30 min, then the tissue was reperfused for 30 min. The animals in the l-NAME group ( n=10) received N Gnitro- l-arginine methyl ester ( l-NAME) (15 mg/kg) intraperitoneally 60 min before ischemia. The ischemia group ( n=10) was given an equal volume of saline solution. The control group comprised eight healthy rats which were not exposed to ischemia or reperfusion. An indicator of hepatic injury, plasma alanine amino transferase (ALT) enzyme activities, were increased in the l-NAME group as compared with the ischemia group ( p