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Lookup NU author(s): Professor David Jones
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2023 The Authors. Liver International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Background and Aims: Many patients with the chronic cholestatic liver disease primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) show fatigue and cognitive impairment that reduces their quality of life. Likewise, rats with bile duct ligation (BDL) are a model of cholestatic liver disease. Current PBC treatments do not improve symptomatic alterations such as fatigue or cognitive impairment and new, more effective treatments are therefore required. Golexanolone reduces the potentiation of GABAA receptors activation by neurosteroids. Golexanolone reduces peripheral inflammation and neuroinflammation and improves cognitive and motor function in rats with chronic hyperammonemia. The aims of the present study were to assess if golexanolone treatment improves fatigue and cognitive and motor function in cholestatic BDL rats and if this is associated with improvement of peripheral inflammation, neuroinflammation, and GABAergic neurotransmission in the cerebellum. Methods: Rats were subjected to bile duct ligation. One week after surgery, oral golexanolone was administered daily to BDL and sham-operated controls. Fatigue was analysed in the treadmill, motor coordination in the motorater, locomotor gait in the Catwalk, and short-term memory in the Y-maze. We also analysed peripheral inflammation, neuroinflammation, and GABAergic neurotransmission markers by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. Results: BDL induces fatigue, impairs memory and motor coordination, and alters locomotor gait in cholestatic rats. Golexanolone improves these alterations, and this was associated with improvement of peripheral inflammation, neuroinflammation, and GABAergic neurotransmission in the cerebellum. Conclusion: Golexanolone may have beneficial effects to treat fatigue, and motor and cognitive impairment in patients with the chronic cholestatic liver disease PBC.
Author(s): Arenas YM, Izquierdo-Altarejos P, Martinez-Garcia M, Gimenez-Garzo C, Mincheva G, Doverskog M, Jones DEJ, Balzano T, Llansola M, Felipo V
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Liver International
Year: 2024
Volume: 44
Issue: 2
Pages: 433-445
Print publication date: 01/02/2024
Online publication date: 27/11/2023
Acceptance date: 23/10/2023
Date deposited: 11/12/2023
ISSN (print): 1478-3223
ISSN (electronic): 1478-3231
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Inc
URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/liv.15782
DOI: 10.1111/liv.15782
Data Access Statement: Data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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