In vivo monitoring of liver oxidative stress defences by magnetic resonance measurements of glutathione turnover

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Liver disease is common, causing over 10,000 deaths in the UK per year. Liver disease often occurs as a gradual decline in liver health, with fatty liver, fibrosis and cirrhosis leading towards liver failure. Part of this decline involves ?oxidative stress?. This stress occurs when the liver is overwhelmed by damaging chemical species caused by drugs, alcohol, viral infection and the effects of having a fatty liver.We are developing new ways of measuring the degree of oxidative stress in the liver, and of measuring how well the liver copes with this stress. We use MRI scanners to measure the liver?s production of glutathione, which is a natural antioxidant that the liver uses for protection against the chemicals that cause oxidative stress. This allows us to gauge the liver?s defence mechanisms in a non-invasive way, using an MRI scanner instead of taking a liver biopsy sample with a needle.Our studies will characterise how liver glutathione synthesis rate changes when liver oxidative stress occurs, and demonstrates that these measurements can be made in people in a robust and safe manner. Thus we are developing new methods to monitor the role that oxidative stress plays in progression of liver disease. If successful, these methods may play a role in future liver disease research projects, and we hope to use these techniques to assess the impact of therapeutic strategies such as antioxidant supplementation treatments or diet and lifestyle changes.