Drug-Induced Liver Injury: Clinical Evidence of N-Acetyl Cysteine Protective Effects.
Yonela NtamoKhanyisani ZiqubuNireshni ChellanBongani Brian NkambuleTawanda Maurice NyambuyaSithandiwe E Mazibuko-MbejeKwazikwakhe B GabuzaFabio MarcheggianiLuca TianoPhiwayinkosi Vusi DludlaPublished in: Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity (2021)
Oxidative stress is a key pathological feature implicated in both acute and chronic liver diseases, including drug-induced liver injury (DILI). The latter describes hepatic injury arising as a direct toxic effect of administered drugs or their metabolites. Although still underreported, DILI remains a significant cause of liver failure, especially in developed nations. Currently, it is understood that mitochondrial-generated oxidative stress and abnormalities in phase I/II metabolism, leading to glutathione (GSH) suppression, drive the onset of DILI. N-Acetyl cysteine (NAC) has attracted a lot of interest as a therapeutic agent against DILI because of its strong antioxidant properties, especially in relation to enhancing endogenous GSH content to counteract oxidative stress. Thus, in addition to updating information on the pathophysiological mechanisms implicated in oxidative-induced hepatic injury, the current review critically discusses clinical evidence on the protective effects of NAC against DILI, including the reduction of patient mortality. Besides injury caused by paracetamol, NAC can also improve liver function in relation to other forms of liver injury such as those induced by excessive alcohol intake. The implicated therapeutic mechanisms of NAC extend from enhancing hepatic GSH levels to reducing biomarkers of paracetamol toxicity such as keratin-18 and circulating caspase-cleaved cytokeratin-18. However, there is still lack of evidence confirming the benefits of using NAC in combination with other therapies in patients with DILI.
Keyphrases
- drug induced
- liver injury
- oxidative stress
- transcription factor
- liver failure
- fluorescent probe
- diabetic rats
- induced apoptosis
- dna damage
- ischemia reperfusion injury
- genome wide analysis
- living cells
- adverse drug
- hepatitis b virus
- machine learning
- cell death
- ms ms
- working memory
- heat shock
- type diabetes
- intensive care unit
- risk factors
- signaling pathway
- acute respiratory distress syndrome
- physical activity
- rare case
- anti inflammatory drugs
- extracorporeal membrane oxygenation