MELATONIN MODULATES ANTIOXIDANT RESPONSE AND PROTECTS HEPATOCYTES IN RATS WITH SEVERE ACUTE LIVER FAILURE

Severe acute liver failure is a rare clinical condition that affects previously normal livers and is rapid and fulminant. This study aimed to investigate the effects of melatonin on hepatocyte degeneration and loss of function. An experimental study was conducted using thioacetamide to induce liver failure in Wistar rats. After total protein assay, cell membrane damage was assessed, followed by carbonyl groups assay. The concentration of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase, the level of ammonia, and the activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase were assayed by spectrophotometry. Inorganic elements were identified by particle-induced X-ray emission, the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway was determined by immunohistochemistry, and the structure of liver parenchyma was assessed by histology and by electron microscopy. Melatonin reduces lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation, maintains liver integrity, modulates antioxidant response and ammonia levels, and preserves the architecture of the parenchyma and the structure of hepatocyte organelles.