Glutathione protects against hepatic injury in a murine model of primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is a systemic autoimmune disease which may cause complications such as hepatic dysfunction and injury. As an important antioxidant, reduced glutathione (GSH) has been reported protecting against hepatic injury induced by some diseases, but the role of GSH in pSS is poorly understood. This study aims at investigating the role of GSH in hepatic injury during pSS. A murine model of pSS, non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice, was used for GSH administration via tail intravenous injection. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to detect serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), as well as the levels of GSH, tumor necrosis factor, interleukin (IL) 10, integrin alpha M, IL1B, malondialdehyde, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase 4, and superoxide dismutases in hepatocyte homogenates. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was performed to observe hepatic histology. The results showed that serum AST and ALT levels were up-regulated in the NOD mice (p = 0.0021 and 0.0048), but were significantly recovered after the GSH administration (p = 0.0081 and 0.0263). The NOD mice exhibited disturbed hepatic tissue structure, which was attenuated by GSH. The GSH administration could also promote the production of GSH in the hepatocytes (p = 0.0264), and control the levels of inflammatory factors and oxidative stress-related factors. These results indicate that GSH has significant effects on protecting against the hepatic injury during pSS, which may be associated with its regulation of the inflammatory factors and oxidative stress-related factors. This study suggests that GSH is a promising therapeutic strategy for controlling hepatic injury during pSS and offers valuable information for further research.