Effect of interferon-alpha on experimental septal fibrosis of the liver - study with a new model

• Autor(a) principal: Souza, Márcia Maria de
• Data de Publicação: 2001
• Outros Autores: Paraná, Raymundo, Trépo, Christian, Barbosa Junior, Aryon de Almeida, Oliveira, Irismar Reis de, Andrade, Zilton de Araújo
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da FIOCRUZ (ARCA)
• Texto Completo: https://www.arca.fiocruz.br/handle/icict/6292
• topic: Interferon-a; Hepatic fibrosis; Capillaria hepatica; Cirrose Hepática; Experimental/quimioterapia; Interferon alfa/uso terapêutico; Antivirais/uso terapêutico; Modelos Animais; Modelos Animais de Doenças; Capillaria; Cirrose Hepática Experimental/patologia; Hidroxiprolina/análise; Fígado/química; Ratos Wistar; Estudos de Casos e Controles; Animais; Ratos; Masculino; Feminino

Interferon-alpha is used in antiviral therapy in humans, mainly for viral hepatitis B and C. An anti-fibrotic effect of interferon has been postulated even in the absence of anti-viral response, which suggests that interferon directly inhibits fibrogenesis. Rats infected with the helminth Capillaria hepatica regularly develop diffuse septal fibrosis of the liver, which terminates in cirrhosis 40 days after inoculation. The aim of this study was to test the anti-fibrotic effect of interferon in this experimental model. Evaluation of fibrosis was made by three separate methods: semi-quantitative histology, computerized morphometry and hydroxyproline measurements. Treatment with interferon-alpha proved to inhibit the development of fibrosis in this model, especially when doses of 500,000 and 800,000 IU were used for 60 days. Besides confirming the anti-fibrotic potential of interferon-alpha on a non-viral new experimental model of hepatic fibrosis, a clear-cut dose-dependent effect was observed.