The Journal of nutrition
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The Journal of nutrition · May 2004
Kupffer cell activity is involved in the hepatoprotective effect of dietary oligofructose in rats with endotoxic shock.
In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that dietary oligofructose (FOS) can modulate both the response to an endotoxic shock induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration and the activity of resident hepatic macrophages, i.e., Kupffer cells. Male Wistar rats (n = 5-9 per group) were fed a standard diet or a diet supplemented with 10 g/100 g FOS for 3 wk. LPS (10 mg/kg) or saline were injected i.p. after dietary treatment. ⋯ Precision-cut liver slices (PCLS) from FOS-treated rats released more TNF-alpha and PGE(2) into the incubation medium than PCLS from control rats, independently of LPS challenge in vitro. This would suggest that the higher Kupffer cell phagocytic activity and secretion capacity due to FOS supplementation improve LPS clearance in liver tissue and reduce hepatocyte alterations. This study supports the hypothesis that oligofructose might decrease liver tissue injury after endotoxic shock and sepsis.