scholarly journals Major Histocompatibility Class II Pathway Is Not Required for the Development of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Mice

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilles Willemin ◽  
Catherine Roger ◽  
Armelle Bauduret ◽  
Kaori Minehira

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms within major histocompatibility class II (MHC II) genes have been associated with an increased risk of drug-induced liver injury. However, it has never been addressed whether the MHC II pathway plays an important role in the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the most common form of liver disease. We used a mouse model that has a complete knockdown of genes in the MHC II pathway (MHCIIΔ/Δ). Firstly we studied the effect of high-fat diet-induced hepatic inflammation in these mice. Secondly we studied the development of carbon-tetra-chloride- (CCl4-) induced hepatic cirrhosis. After the high-fat diet, both groups developed obesity and hepatic steatosis with a similar degree of hepatic inflammation, suggesting no impact of the knockdown of MHC II on high-fat diet-induced inflammation in mice. In the second study, we confirmed that the CCl4injection significantly upregulated the MHC II genes in wild-type mice. The CCl4treatment significantly induced genes related to the fibrosis formation in wild-type mice, whereas this was lower in MHCIIΔ/Δmice. The liver histology, however, showed no detectable difference between groups, suggesting that the MHC II pathway is not required for the development of hepatic fibrosis induced by CCl4.

2016 ◽  
Vol 311 (4) ◽  
pp. G587-G598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Soofi ◽  
Katherine I. Wolf ◽  
Egon J. Ranghini ◽  
Mohammad A. Amin ◽  
Gregory R. Dressler

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common cause of chronic liver disease and is increasing with the rising rate of obesity in the developed world. Signaling pathways known to influence the rate of lipid deposition in liver, known as hepatic steatosis, include the transforming growth factor (TGF) superfamily, which function through the SMAD second messengers. The kielin/chordin-like protein (KCP) is a large secreted protein that can enhance bone morphogenetic protein signaling while suppressing TGF-β signaling in cells and in genetically modified mice. In this report, we show that aging KCP mutant ( Kcp −/−) mice are increasingly susceptible to developing hepatic steatosis and liver fibrosis. When young mice are put on a high-fat diet, Kcp −/− mice are also more susceptible to developing liver pathology, compared with their wild-type littermates. Furthermore, mice that express a Pepck-KCP transgene ( Kcp Tg) in the liver are resistant to developing liver pathology even when fed a high-fat diet. Analyses of liver tissues reveal a significant reduction of P-Smad3, consistent with a role for KCP in suppressing TGF-β signaling. Transcriptome analyses show that livers from Kcp −/− mice fed a normal diet are more like wild-type livers from mice fed a high-fat diet. However, the KCP transgene can suppress many of the changes in liver gene expression that are due to a high-fat diet. These data demonstrate that shifting the TGF-β signaling paradigm with the secreted regulatory protein KCP can significantly alter the liver pathology in aging mice and in diet-induced NAFLD.


Aging ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 8960-8974
Author(s):  
Xiaoli Qian ◽  
Ting Wang ◽  
Jiahong Gong ◽  
Li Wang ◽  
Xuyan Chen ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Doo Jin Choi ◽  
Seong Cheol Kim ◽  
Gi Eun Park ◽  
Bo-Ram Choi ◽  
Dae Young Lee ◽  
...  

The present study aimed to evaluate the potential synergistic and protective effects of ALM16, a mixture of Astragalus membranaceus (AM) and Lithospermum erythrorhizon (LE) extract in a ratio of 7 : 3, against hepatic steatosis in high fat diet (HFD)-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) mice. Forty-eight mice were randomly divided into eight groups and orally administered daily for 6 weeks with a normal diet (ND) or high fat diet alone (HFD), HFD with AM (HFD + 100 mg/kg AM extract), HFD with LE (HFD + 100 mg/kg LE extract), HFD with ALM16 (HFD + 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg ALM16), or HFD with MT (HFD + 100 mg/kg Milk thistle extract) as a positive control. ALM16 significantly decreased the body and liver weight, serum and hepatic lipid profiles, including triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL), and serum glucose levels, compared to the HFD group. Moreover, ALM16 significantly ameliorated the HFD-induced increased hepatic injury markers, including aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT)-1. Furthermore, as compared to the mice fed HFD alone, ALM16 increased the levels of phosphorylated AMP-activated protein kinase (p-AMPK) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (p-ACC), thereby upregulating the expression of carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT)-1 and downregulating the expression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP)-1c and fatty acid synthase (FAS). These results demonstrated that ALM16 markedly inhibited HFD-induced hepatic steatosis in NAFLD mice by modulating AMPK and ACC signaling pathways, and may be more effective than the single extracts of AM or LE.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Jiayao Yang ◽  
Dongqing Tao ◽  
Wei Ma ◽  
Song Liu ◽  
Yan Liao ◽  
...  

Objective. Sijunzi, Lizhong, and Fuzilizhong decoction were traditional Chinese classic formulations, which are widely used in clinical treatment, and the underlying mechanism is unclear. In this study, we aim to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the protective effects of Sijunzi, Lizhong, and Fuzilizhong on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods. Male Wistar rats were fed a high-fat diet for four weeks to induce NAFLD and were thereafter administered Sijunzi (8 g/kg/d), Lizhong (10 g/kg/d), or Fuzilizhong (10 g/kg/d) by gavage for four weeks. Hepatic damage, lipid accumulation, inflammation, autophagy, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α signaling were evaluated. Results. The high-fat diet-fed rats showed typical symptoms of NAFLD, including elevated levels of hepatic damage indicators, increased hepatic lipid deposition and fibrosis, severe liver inflammation, and prominent autophagy. Upon administration of Sijunzi, Lizhong, and Fuzilizhong, liver health was improved remarkably, along with ameliorated symptoms of NAFLD. In addition, NAFLD-suppressed peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α signaling was reactivated after treatment with the three types of decoctions. Conclusions. The results collectively signify the effective therapeutic and protective functions of Sijunzi, Lizhong, and Fuzilizhong against NAFLD and demonstrate the potential of Chinese herbal medication in mitigating the symptoms of liver diseases. Novelty of the Work. Traditional Chinese herbal medicine has been used for centuries to treat various diseases, but the molecular mechanisms of individual ingredients have rarely been studied. The novelty of our work lies in elucidating the specific signaling pathways involved in the control of NAFLD using three common Chinese herbal decoctions. We suggest that natural herbal formulations can be effective therapeutic agents to combat against NAFLD.


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