Gut-liver axis improves with meloxicam treatment after cirrhotic liver resection

Figure 1 Release of alanine aminotransferase in the serum after liver resection at three different time points 1, 3 and 24 h for three groups: Control group; bile duct ligation + meloxicam; and bile duct ligation. Values are given as mean ± SE. 2-way ANOVA. Bonferroni’s post-test: ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01 vs CG; ^dP < 0.01 vs CG and BDL (n = 15). CG: Control group; BDL: Bile duct ligation; BDL + M: BDL + meloxicam; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase.

Figure 2 Indocyanine green transit evaluation into the gastrointestinal tract with IC-View System in a 24 h observation time of three groups: Control group; bile duct ligation + meloxicam; and bile duct ligation. A: Images of ICG transit in small bowel viewed by IC-View System; B: Histogram of the quantified gastrointestinal transit. Values are given as means ± SE. One-way ANOVA. Tukey's Multiple Comparison Test: ^aP < 0.05 vs BDL + M (n = 5). CG: Control group; BDL: Bile duct ligation; BDL + M: BDL + meloxicam; ICG: Indocyanine green.

Figure 3 Histopathological findings. HE staining of liver tissue at 24 h after liver resection of three groups: CG (A), BDL + M (B) and BDL (C); Immunohistochemical analysis of hepatocyte proliferation with Ki-67-positive nuclei, CG (D), BDL + M (E) and BDL (F), and COX-2 expression after liver resection, CG (G), BDL + M (H) and BDL (I) (× 400) (n = 5). CG: Control group; BDL: Bile duct ligation; BDL + M: BDL + meloxicam; HE: Hematoxylin and eosin; COX-2: Cyclooxigenase-2.

Figure 4 Histopathological findings. HE staining of the small bowel at 24 h after liver resection of three groups: CG (A), BDL + M (B) and BDL (C) (× 200); Immunohistochemical analysis of enterocyte proliferation with Ki-67-positive nuclei, CG (D), BDL + M (E) and BDL (F), of three groups (× 400) (n = 5). CG: Control group; BDL: Bile duct ligation; BDL + M: BDL + meloxicam; HE: Hematoxylin and eosin.

Figure 5 Quantification of collagen I (red) and collagen III (green) at 24 h after liver resection of three groups: Control group (A); bile duct ligation + meloxicam (B); and bile duct ligation (C). Ishak scoring system was adopted to score cirrhotic alterations in the liver of three groups (n = 5).

Figure 6 Release of interleukin 6 (A), hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (B) and transforming growth factor beta 1 (C) in the serum after liver resection in three different groups at 1, 3 and 24 h. Values are given as mean ± SE. 2-way ANOVA. Bonferroni’s post-test: ^aP < 0.05 vs CG; ^dP < 0.01 vs BDL + M; ^fP < 0.01 vs BDL (n = 15). CG: Control group; BDL: Bile duct ligation; BDL + M: BDL + meloxicam; IL-6: Interleukin 6; HIF-1α: Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha; TGF-β1: Transforming growth factor beta 1.

Figure 7 Release of malondialdehyde in the serum after liver resection at three different time points 1, 3 and 24 h for three groups: Control group; bile duct ligation + meloxicam; and bile duct ligation. Values are given as mean ± SE. 2-way ANOVA. Bonferroni’s post-test: ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01 vs CG (n = 15). CG: Control group; BDL: Bile duct ligation; BDL + M: BDL + meloxicam; MDA: Malondialdehyde.

Figure 8 Hepatic and the small bowel (mucosa and muscularis/serosa) messenger RNA (mRNA) expression for interleukin 6 (A), transforming growth factor beta 1 (B), and cyclooxigenase-2 (C), after liver resection at two time points 3 and 24 h. Values are given as mean ± SE. Multiple comparisons between groups under the Kruskal-Wallis test were performed. ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01 vs BDL + M and BDL; ^dP < 0.01 vs BDL + M and CG (n = 15). CG: Control group; BDL: Bile duct ligation; BDL + M: BDL + meloxicam; IL-6: Interleukin 6; TGF-β1: Transforming growth factor beta 1; COX-2: Cyclooxigenase-2.