An Animal Model for the Juvenile Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis

PLoS One. 2016 Jul 8;11(7):e0158817. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0158817. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) are the hepatic manifestations of the metabolic syndrome; worrisome is the booming increase in pediatric age. To recreate the full spectrum of juvenile liver pathology and investigate the gender impact, male and female C57Bl/6 mice were fed with high fat diet plus fructose in the drinking water (HFHC) immediately after weaning (equal to 3-years old human), and disease progression followed for 16 weeks, until adults (equal to 30-years old human). 100% of subjects of both genders on HFHC diet developed steatosis in 4weeks, and some degree of fibrosis in 8weeks, with the 86% of males and 15% of females presenting a stage 2 fibrosis at 16weeks. Despite a similar final liver damage both groups, a sex difference in the pathology progression was observed. Alterations in glucose homeostasis, dyslipidemia, hepatomegaly and obese phenotype were evident from the very beginning in males with an increased hepatic inflammatory activity. Conversely, such alterations were present in females only at the end of the HFHC diet (with the exception of insulin resistance and the hepatic inflammatory state). Interestingly, only females showed an altered hepatic redox state. This juvenile model appears a good platform to unravel the underlying gender dependent mechanisms in the progression from NAFLD to NASH, and to characterize novel therapeutic approaches.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Animals
  • Dietary Fats / adverse effects*
  • Dietary Fats / pharmacology
  • Disease Models, Animal*
  • Dyslipidemias / chemically induced
  • Dyslipidemias / metabolism
  • Dyslipidemias / pathology
  • Dyslipidemias / physiopathology
  • Female
  • Fructose / adverse effects*
  • Fructose / pharmacology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / blood
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / chemically induced*
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / pathology
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / physiopathology
  • Obesity / blood
  • Obesity / chemically induced
  • Obesity / pathology
  • Obesity / physiopathology
  • Sex Characteristics*

Substances

  • Dietary Fats
  • Fructose

Grants and funding

The present work was funded by Italian National Grant MIUR - Art.13 D.LGS 297/99 - Progetto Nutrizione e Salute (NR, VM, SG); and in part by an in-house grant from Fondazione Italiana Fegato, ONLUS (MDB, CT).