关键词: 布氏田鼠, 单宁, 抗氧化, 自噬, 肝脏, 基因表达

Abstract: Tannins are phenolic secondary metabolites that are present in various plants and have potential antioxidant properties. However, the effect of tannins on autophagy in animals remains unclear. In the present study, 4-week-old Brandt's voles (Lasiopodomys brandtii) were fed low and high doses of tannic acid (TA) solution for 9 weeks. The variations in serum antioxidant levels and the expression of liver autophagy-related genes in relation to the TA dose were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), respectively. TA had no evident effects on the rates of growth of body weight and liver index in the voles. The level of serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) was higher in the high-dose TA group than in the control group, but the level of serum malondialdehyde (MDA) and the expression levels of both Beclin1 and p62 in the liver were lower in the highdose TA group than in the control group. Levels of serum glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT) were higher in the high-dose TA group than in the control group, but the expression level of LC3A in the liver was lower in the high-dose group than in the control group. In both the low-dose and high-dose TA groups, the serum GSH-Px levels were higher in male voles than in female voles, and in the high-dose TA group, the serum CAT levels were also higher in male voles than in female voles. Our research demonstrates that certain doses of TA could improve antioxidant levels and reduce autophagy in the liver, but the response of the antioxidant system to TA was stronger in male voles than in female voles. Our findings suggest that low consumption of tannin from plants could improve the antioxidant capabilities of wild Brandt's voles, thereby benefiting their population.

Key words: Brandt's vole, Tannic acid, Antioxidant, Autophagy, Liver, Genes expression