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1st Student's Major

Biological Sciences

1st Student's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Students' Professional Biography

Renae Haycraft grew up in Lewisville, Minnesota, and graduated high school at Mankato West High School in 2001. She started attending Minnesota State University, Mankato, in the fall of 2001. She is graduating this spring with a B.S. in Biology, Toxicology Option, and a B.A. in Chemistry. After graduation, she will begin employment at 3M Corporate Toxicology and Regulatory Services in St. Paul,

Mentor's Name

Steven Mercurio

Mentor's Email Address

steven.mercurio@mnsu.edu

Mentor's Department

Biological Sciences

Mentor's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Other Mentors

Danae R. Quirk Dorr

Abstract

The focus of this research was to decrease inflammatory-related liver damage from tamoxifen in rats by adding fish oil to the diet. Tamoxifen causes a significant increase in inflammation of the liver. Inflammation increases with the production of prostaglandins by a metabolic pathway involving arachidonic acid. The metabolism of tamoxifen by the enzyme cytochrome P450 leads to an increase in the production of prostaglandins. The increased inflammation is proportional to lipid accumulation and ultimately lipid peroxidation in the liver. Resulting damage in humans includes hepatic steatosis (fatty liver), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and cirrhosis. Fish oils rich in omega-3 fatty acids, including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA), should decrease inflammation by indirectly suppressing the production of prostaglandins through enzymatic competition. Female rats were given a 7-day treatment of tamoxifen (35mg/kg) and/or fish oil (1000 mg/kg) by IP injection. Total rat weights were significantly lower in rats receiving only tamoxifen and significantly greater in rats receiving only fish oil, with no significant difference in the control rats or the rats receiving both variables. Liver weights exhibit no significant differences. Liver lipid analyses showed a significant decrease in lipid accumulation in rats that received both tamoxifen and fish oil. A significant decrease in lipid peroxidation was prominent in the rats that only received fish oil, possibly a result of its antioxidant activity. Future work may include increasing the numbers of rats and identifying proteins, estrogen metabolites, and tamoxifen metabolites, as well using a TBARS analysis for lipid peroxidation.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Included in

Hepatology Commons

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