scholarly journals Acupuncture on ST36, CV4 and KI1 Suppresses the Progression of Methionine- and Choline-Deficient Diet-Induced Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Mice

Metabolites ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiangjin Meng ◽  
Xin Guo ◽  
Jing Zhang ◽  
Junji Moriya ◽  
Junji Kobayashi ◽  
...  

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common chronic liver diseases worldwide, and its treatment remain a constant challenge. A number of clinical trials have shown that acupuncture treatment has beneficial effects for patients with NAFLD, but the molecular mechanisms underlying its action are still largely unknown. In this study, we established a mouse model of NAFLD by administering a methionine- and choline-deficient (MCD) diet and selected three acupoints (ST36, CV4, and KI1) or nonacupoints (sham) for needling. We then investigated the effects of acupuncture treatment on the progression of NAFLD and the underlying mechanisms. After two weeks of acupuncture treatment, the liver in the needling-nonapcupoint group (NG) mice appeared pale and yellowish in color, while that in the needling-acupoint group (AG) showed a bright red color. Histologically, fewer lipid droplets and inflammatory foci were observed in the AG liver than in the NG liver. Furthermore, the expression of proinflammatory signaling factors was significantly downregulated in the AG liver. A lipid analysis showed that the levels of triglyceride (TG) and free fatty acid (FFA) were lower in the AG liver than in the NG liver, with an altered expression of lipid metabolism-related factors as well. Moreover, the numbers of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG)-positive hepatocytes and levels of hepatic thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were significantly lower in AG mice than in NG mice. In line with these results, a higher expressions of antioxidant factors was found in the AG liver than in the NG liver. Our results indicate that acupuncture repressed the progression of NAFLD by inhibiting inflammatory reactions, reducing oxidative stress, and promoting lipid metabolism of hepatocytes, suggesting that this approach might be an important complementary treatment for NAFLD.

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 4534
Author(s):  
Da Eun Kim ◽  
Bo Yoon Chang ◽  
Byeong Min Jeon ◽  
Jong In Baek ◽  
Sun Chang Kim ◽  
...  

A ginsenoside F2-enhanced mixture (SGL 121) increases the content of ginsenoside F2 by biotransformation. In the present study, we investigated the effect of SGL 121 on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in vitro and in vivo. High-fat, high-carbohydrate-diet (HFHC)-fed mice were administered SGL 121 for 12 weeks to assess its effect on improving NAFLD. In HepG2 cells, SGL 121 acted as an antioxidant, a hepatoprotectant, and had an anti-lipogenic effect. In NAFLD mice, SGL 121 significantly improved body fat mass; levels of hepatic triglyceride (TG), hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA), serum total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL); and activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). In HepG2 cells, induced by oxidative stress, SGL 121 increased cytoprotection, inhibited reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and increased antioxidant enzyme activity. SGL 121 activated the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway and improved lipid accumulation induced by free fatty acids (FFA). Sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1) and fatty acid synthase (FAS) expression was significantly reduced in NAFLD-induced liver and HepG2 cells treated with SGL 121. Moreover, SGL 121 activated adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which plays an important role in the regulation of lipid metabolism. The effect of SGL 121 on the improvement of NAFLD seems to be related to its antioxidant effects and activation of AMPK. In conclusion, SGL 121 can be potentially used for the treatment of NAFLD.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wermerson Assunção Barroso ◽  
Mariana Barreto Serra ◽  
Iracelle Carvalho Abreu ◽  
Hermes Vieira Barbeiro ◽  
Jarlei Fiamoncini ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (18) ◽  
pp. 9969
Author(s):  
Mariano Schiffrin ◽  
Carine Winkler ◽  
Laure Quignodon ◽  
Aurélien Naldi ◽  
Martin Trötzmüller ◽  
...  

Men with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are more exposed to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and liver fibrosis than women. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of NALFD sex dimorphism are unclear. We combined gene expression, histological and lipidomic analyses to systematically compare male and female liver steatosis. We characterized hepatosteatosis in three independent mouse models of NAFLD, ob/ob and lipodystrophic fat-specific (PpargFΔ/Δ) and whole-body PPARγ-null (PpargΔ/Δ) mice. We identified a clear sex dimorphism occurring only in PpargΔ/Δ mice, with females showing macro- and microvesicular hepatosteatosis throughout their entire life, while males had fewer lipid droplets starting from 20 weeks. This sex dimorphism in hepatosteatosis was lost in gonadectomized PpargΔ/Δ mice. Lipidomics revealed hepatic accumulation of short and highly saturated TGs in females, while TGs were enriched in long and unsaturated hydrocarbon chains in males. Strikingly, sex-biased genes were particularly perturbed in both sexes, affecting lipid metabolism, drug metabolism, inflammatory and cellular stress response pathways. Most importantly, we found that the expression of key sex-biased genes was severely affected in all the NAFLD models we tested. Thus, hepatosteatosis strongly affects hepatic sex-biased gene expression. With NAFLD increasing in prevalence, this emphasizes the urgent need to specifically address the consequences of this deregulation in humans.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Mi-Rae Shin ◽  
Sung Ho Shin ◽  
Seong-Soo Roh

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been a major cause of a chronic liver disease over recent decades and increasing worldwide in parallel with the remarkable growth of obesity. In the present study, we investigate the ameliorative effects of PCM, a combination of Diospyros kaki fruit and Citrus unshiu peel mixture, on high-fat diet- (HFD-) induced NAFLD and clarify the potential mechanisms. PCM in HFD-fed mice was orally administered at a dose of 50 or 100 mg/kg subsequently for 2 months. Thereafter, lipid metabolism parameters and fat synthesis-related genes in the mouse liver were evaluated. Subsequently, body weight changes, liver weight, serum liver function and lipid profiles, and liver pathology were examined, and the relative levels of fatty acid synthesis and β-oxidation gene expression were evaluated by western blot. Serum AST, ALT, and TG levels in the HFD control mice were significantly higher than those of normal mice. Compared with HFD control mice, PCM supplementation increased phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) α was significantly increased by PCM administration. Continuously, the activation of PPARα significantly elevated carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT-1), a key enzyme in fatty acid β-oxidation, and mitochondrial uncoupling protein 2 (UCP-2), thermogenic regulatory genes, in PCM-treated mice compared with those of HFD control mice. Moreover, PCM inhibits lipogenesis and cholesterol synthesis via suppression of sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 (SREBP-1) and SREBP-2 and its target genes such as acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), fatty acid synthase (FAS), stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1), and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR). Taken together, these effects were mediated through activation of AMPK. In the conclusion, PCM improved liver damage in HFD-fed mice and attenuated NAFLD by the activation of PPARα and the inhibition of SREBPs expression via AMPK-dependent pathways.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng Ma ◽  
Cheng Wang ◽  
Yafang Zhang ◽  
Honglin Zhou ◽  
Yunxia Li

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a kind of metabolic stress-induced liver injury closely related to insulin resistance and genetic susceptibility, and there is no specific drug for its clinical treatment currently. In recent years, a large amount of literature has reported that many natural compounds extracted from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) can improve NAFLD through various mechanisms. According to the latest reports, some emerging natural compounds have shown great potential to improve NAFLD but are seldom used clinically due to the lacking special research. Purpose: This paper aims to summarize the molecular mechanisms of the potential natural compounds on improving NAFLD, thus providing a direction and basis for further research on the pathogenesis of NAFLD and the development of effective drugs for the prevention and treatment of NAFLD. Methods: By searching various online databases, such as Web of Science, SciFinder, PubMed, and CNKI, NAFLD and these natural compounds were used as the keywords for detailed literature retrieval. Results: The pathogenesis of NAFLD and the molecular mechanisms of the potential natural compounds on improving NAFLD have been reviewed. Conclusion: Many natural compounds from traditional Chinese medicine have a good prospect in the treatment of NAFLD, which can serve as a direction for the development of anti-NAFLD drugs in the future.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Yu ◽  
Xi Xu ◽  
Jing Zhang ◽  
Xuan Xia ◽  
Fen Xu ◽  
...  

A glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist liraglutide (LR) had been experimentally and clinically shown to ameliorate nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study aimed to investigate the beneficial effect of LR on NAFLD in vivo and in vitro and its underlying molecular mechanism. The effects of LR were examined on the high-fat diet-induced in vivo model in mice and in vitro model of NAFLD in human HepG2 cells. Liver tissues and HepG2 cells were procured for measuring lipid metabolism, histological examination, and western blot analysis. LR administration significantly lowered the serum lipid profile and lipid disposition in vitro and in vivo because of the altered expression of enzymes on hepatic gluconeogenesis and lipid metabolism. Moreover, LR significantly decreased Src homology region 2 domain-containing phosphatase-1 (SHP1) and then increased the expression of phosphorylated-AMP-activated protein kinase (p-AMPK). However, the overexpression of SHP1 mediated by lentivirus vector reversed LR-induced improvement in lipid deposition. Moreover, SHP1 silencing could further increase the expression of p-AMPK to ameliorate lipid metabolism and relative lipogenic gene induced by LR. In addition, abrogation of AMPK by Compound C eliminated the protective effects of LR on lipid metabolism without changing the expression of SHP1. LR markedly prevented NAFLD through adjusting lipid metabolism via SHP1/AMPK signaling pathway.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 99-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajashree Rana ◽  
Andrew M. Shearer ◽  
Elizabeth K. Fletcher ◽  
Nga Nguyen ◽  
Srijoy Guha ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Olfa Khalifa ◽  
Khaoula Errafii ◽  
Nayla S. Al-Akl ◽  
Abdelilah Arredouani

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is currently the most common chronic liver disease worldwide in part due to the concomitant obesity pandemic and insulin resistance (IR). It is increasingly becoming evident that NAFLD is a disease affecting numerous extrahepatic vital organs and regulatory pathways. The molecular mechanisms underlying the nonalcoholic steatosis formation are poorly understood, and little information is available on the pathways that are responsible for the progressive hepatocellular damage that follows lipid accumulation. Recently, much research has focused on the identification of the epigenetic modifications that contribute to NAFLD pathogenesis. Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) are one of such epigenetic factors that could be implicated in the NAFLD development and progression. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the genetic and epigenetic factors potentially underlying the disease. Particular emphasis will be put on the contribution of microRNAs (miRNAs), long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs) to the pathophysiology of NAFLD as well as their potential use as therapeutic targets or as markers for the prediction and the progression of the disease.


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