Protective Effects of Adenosine Receptor Agonist in a Cirrhotic Liver Resection Model

Objectives: to investigate the role of cgs21680, a selective adenosine a2a receptor agonist, on a bile-duct-ligated cirrhotic liver resection model in rats. methods: male wistar rats were allotted into 3 groups (n = 7 per time-point): the control group, the bile duct ligation + cgs21680 group (bdl + cgs), and the bile duct ligation group (bdl). biliary cirrhosis had been previously induced by ligature of the common bile duct in the bdl + cgs and bdl groups. after 2 weeks, the animals underwent partial hepatectomy (50%). the bdl + cgs group received a single dose of cgs21680 15 minutes prior to hepatectomy. blood samples were collected and analyzed. results: aspartate transaminase levels were found to be lower in the control vs bdl groups (1, 3, and 24 h) (p < 0.01) and the bdl + cgs (1 and 3 hours) (p < 0.01) and bdl + cgs vs bdl (24 hours) (p < 0.05) groups. hepatic flow was measured and bdl showed significantly lower values at the 3, 24, and 168 h time-points compared to the control (p < 0.01) and bdl + cgs groups (p < 0.05 at 3 and 168 hours; p < 0.01 at 24 h). o2c velocity was reduced in the bdl compared to the control group (p < 0.001 at 3 hours; p < 0.01 at 24 and 168 hours) and the bdl + cgs group (p < 0.01 at 24 hours). interleukin-6 levels were abrogated in the bdl + cgs (p < 0.05) and control (p < 0.01) groups versus bdl. histone-bound low-molecular-weight dna fragments in the bdl + cgs (p < 0.01) and control (p < 0.05) groups were low compared to the bdl group. conclusions: administration of cgs21680, an adenosine receptor agonist, after the resection of bile-duct-ligated cirrhotic livers led to improved liver function, regeneration, and microcirculation.