Nitroglycerin ameliorates liver injury and regulates adaptive immunity in mice.

This study aimed to assess the protective effect of nitroglycerin, a commonly used drug in cardiovascular diseases, on mice with acute liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). The mice were randomly divided into three groups: control, CCl4, and CCl4 + nitroglycerin. They were killed at 0, 6, 12, 24, and 48 h after treatment. Blood and liver tissue samples were collected for analysis. Analysis of the amounts of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT)/aspartate aminotransferase (AST), hepatic glutathione (GSH), and malondialdehyde (MDA) showed that nitroglycerin protected against CCl4-induced acute liver injury. Liver histological analysis provided further evidence of the protective effect of nitroglycerin. Furthermore, we found that nitroglycerin suppressed the increase of T helper 17 (Th17) cells in CCl4-induced acute liver injury mice. The results indicate that nitroglycerin is a potential candidate for hepatic disease.