EVALUATION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES PRODUCTION IN KUPFFER CELLS BY CHEMILUMINESCENCE

摘要

Luminol and lucigenin amplified chemiluminescence is widely used for the sensitive detection of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in cells such as polymorphonuclear leukocytes and macrophages. However, a few work in this field has been done on Kupffer cells (KC), the resident macrophages of the liver that appear to play an important role in host defence due to their ability to phagocyte bacteria and to detoxify endotoxins. Considerable evidence has shown that ROS production in liver during septic states can contribute to the deterioration of hepatic circulation and that ROS are important mediators in liver injury. Therefore, the study of ROS production by Kupffer cells during infectious states is important to elucidate the mechanisms of the onset of liver damage. At present, there are not studies in the literature about the ability of the spirochete to induce the production of ROS by Kupffer cells. Therefore, in this work we used luminol amplified chemiluminescence to study ROS production by isolated rat Kupffer cells in the presence of three spirochetes: Borrelia garinii (the aethiological agent of Lyme disease), Leptospira interrogans (the causative agent of Leptospirosis), and Treponema pallidum (the cause of Syphilis).