Pretreatment with intrathecal or intravenous morphine attenuates hepatic ischaemia-reperfusion injury in normal and cirrhotic rat liver

Morphine preconditioning protects against IRI in both normal and cirrhotic rat liver. This involves opioid receptors, phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase, and Akt. The downstream pathways involved are different for cirrhotic liver, with preliminary evidence suggesting involvement of HO-1.