In vitro studies of the effect of theophylline and/or N-acetylcysteine on redox homeostasis and ketogenesis in rat hepatocytes

The examinations were conducted on hepatocytes isolated by means of enzymatic method from the liver of three-month-old Wistar rats. The cells were incubated in medium with addition of theophylline and/or N-acetylcysteine. Significant changes in the activity of SOD, GPx, and GR in hepatocytes incubated in the presence of the compounds in comparison with control cells demonstrated that theophylline and/or N-acetylcysteine disturb oxidative-reductive homeostasis of the cells. Changes in concentrations of ketone bodies, resulting in disturbances of acetoacetate to β-hydroxybutyrate molar ratio, point to an unfavourable interference of theophylline into ketogenesis, which is equivalent with the disturbance of the balance between NAD + and NADH+H + in hepatocytes. N-acetylcysteine simultaneously present with theophylline in incubation medium exerted a protective action on ketogenesis.