Background: Yttrium oxide nanoparticles (Y2O3 NPs) are known as free radical absorbers. This study investigated the effects of Y2O3 NPs on antioxidant activities, liver enzymes, expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) genes, and histopathology in rat liver fibrosis. Methods: In this experimental study conducted in 2019 at Islamic Azad University, Qom, Iran, male Wistar rats (200–220 g) were assigned to seven groups (n=8): Control, Vehicle, carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), Y2O3 45 mg/Kg, Y2O3 60 mg/Kg, CCl4+Y2O3 45 mg/Kg, and CCl4+Y2O3 60 mg/Kg. Liver fibrosis was induced by CCl4. Y2O3 NPs were administered intraperitoneally for 4 weeks. Blood and liver samples were collected for analyses. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS (version 21) by one-way ANOVA and Tukey post hoc test. P<0.05 was considered significant. Results: The findings indicated catalas (3.00±0.21 vs. 21.46±0.70, 8.96±20 U/min/mg, P<0.001), superoxide dismutase (3.13±0.21 vs. 44.36±1.99, 37.59±0.77 U/mg, P<0.001), glutathione peroxidase (135.25±4.02 vs. 492.00±27.87, 322.75±8.75, U/mg, P<0.001) activities increased, while malondialdehyde (1.29±0.86 vs. 0.32±0.03 , 0.49±0.06 nmol/mL, P<0.001), aspartate aminotransferase (286.33±2.89 vs. 154.66±9.00, 178.00±7.35 U/L, P<0.001), alkaline phosphatase (645.00±16.62 vs. 497.66±9.87, 321.75±20.03 U/L, P<0.001), gamma-glutamyl transferase (619.00±23.45 vs. 349.66±29.95, 299.25±2541 U/L, P<0.001) levels decreased. TGF-β and α-SMA expression decreased in terated groups (6.40±0.23 to 4.19±0.55, P=0.012, 2.70±0.46 P=0.009, 13.77 ±0.44 to 7.94±0.54 P=0.002, 4.87±0.35 P=0.033). Histology evaluatuons confirmed reduced inflammation, steatosis, and collagen deposition in Y2O3-treated fibrotic rats. Conclusion: Y2O3 NPs can alleviate liver fibrosis in experiment. |
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