scholarly journals Supplementation with a Specific Combination of Metabolic Cofactors Ameliorates Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and, Hepatic Fibrosis, and Insulin Resistance in Mice

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 3532
Author(s):  
Sergio Quesada-Vázquez ◽  
Marina Colom-Pellicer ◽  
Èlia Navarro-Masip ◽  
Gerard Aragonès ◽  
Josep M. Del Bas ◽  
...  

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) have emerged as the leading causes of chronic liver disease in the world. Obesity, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia are multifactorial risk factors strongly associated with NAFLD/NASH. Here, a specific combination of metabolic cofactors (a multi-ingredient; MI) containing precursors of glutathione (GSH) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) (betaine, N-acetyl-cysteine, L-carnitine and nicotinamide riboside) was evaluated as effective treatment for the NAFLD/NASH pathophysiology. Six-week-old male mice were randomly divided into control diet animals and animals exposed to a high fat and high fructose/sucrose diet to induce NAFLD. After 16 weeks, diet-induced NAFLD mice were distributed into two groups, treated with the vehicle (HFHFr group) or with a combination of metabolic cofactors (MI group) for 4 additional weeks, and blood and liver were obtained from all animals for biochemical, histological, and molecular analysis. The MI treatment reduced liver steatosis, decreasing liver weight and hepatic lipid content, and liver injury, as evidenced by a pronounced decrease in serum levels of liver transaminases. Moreover, animals supplemented with the MI cocktail showed a reduction in the gene expression of some proinflammatory cytokines when compared with their HFHFr counterparts. In addition, MI supplementation was effective in decreasing hepatic fibrosis and improving insulin sensitivity, as observed by histological analysis, as well as a reduction in fibrotic gene expression (Col1α1) and improved Akt activation, respectively. Taken together, supplementation with this specific combination of metabolic cofactors ameliorates several features of NAFLD, highlighting this treatment as a potential efficient therapy against this disease in humans.

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Eunice Limantara ◽  
Felicia Kartawidjajaputra ◽  
Antonius Suwanto

Early detection of insulin resistance (IR) or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is crucial to preventing future risks of developing chronic diseases. The Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), Liver Fat Score (LFS), and Fatty Liver Index (FLI) are generally employed to measure severity stages of IR and NAFLD. The study of gene expressions could explain the molecular mechanisms that occur early on in IR and NAFLD; thus providing potential early markers for both diseases. This study was conducted to evaluate the gene expressions that could potentially be early markers of IR and NAFLD. All participants (n = 21) had normal blood glucose and were categorized as without hepatosteatosis (n = 10), at higher risk of hepatosteatosis (n = 6), and hepatosteatosis (n = 5). Gene expression analysis was performed using the 2-∆∆CT relative quantification method. There were significant differences in galnt2 (p < 0.002) and sirt1 (p < 0.010) expression between the first and the third tertiles of HOMA-IR; and in ptpn1 (p < 0.012) expression between the first and the second tertiles of LFS. In conclusion, the expressions of galnt2 and sirt1 could be used as early markers of IR, while the expression of ptpn1 could be employed as an early marker of NAFLD.


Author(s):  
A. A. Shipovskaya ◽  
N. A. Larina ◽  
I. V. Kurbatova ◽  
O. P. Dudanova

The goal. To determine the value of the triglyceride glucose index (TGI) for the diagnosis of insulin resistance (IR) in early forms of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).Materials and methods. 99 patients with NAFLD were examined: 38 (38.4%) with liver steatosis (LS) and 61 (61.6%) with steatohepatitis (SH). TGI was determined by the formula — In [fasting TG (mg / dl) × fasting glucose (mg / dl) / 2], patients with LS and SH were divided into quartiles (Q1-Q4) by increasing TGI levels with an assessment of liver tests, insulin levels (“Insulin TEST System”, Monobind Inc., USA), HOMA-IR, fragments of cytokeratin-18 (FCK-18) ("TPS ELISA, Biotech”, Sweden) and TNF-α (“Human TNFα Platinum” ELISA, eBioscience, Austria).Results. In patients with LS with a TGI increase from Q1 to Q4, HOMA-IR increased from 1.12 ± 0.48 to 6.02 ± 3.15 (p <0.05), a direct relationship was found between these indicators — r = 0.52 (p = 0.03). TGI also correlated with waist circumference — r = 0.81 (p = 0.01), cholesterol — r = 0.51 (p = 0.002), alkaline phosphatase — r = 0.41 (p = 0.02). In patients with SH, from Q1 to Q4, HOMA-IR increased from 3.15 ± 1.8 to 6.2 ± 3.04 (p <0.05), but there was no significant correlation between HOMA-IR and TGI. The levels of FCK-18 increased from Q1 to Q4-139.82 ± 72.45 to 359.75 ± 189.03 U / L (p <0.05) and TNF-α — from 6.38 ± 1.25 pg / ml up to 7.75 ± 1.09 pg / ml (p <0.05). There was a connection between TGI and the level of a marker of hepatocyte apoptosis — FCK-18 — r = 0.43 (p = 0.004).Conclusion. In liver steatosis, TGI has demonstrated its diagnostic role as a surrogate marker of insulin resistance, correlating with HOMA-IR. In steatohepatitis, TGI reflected the degree of hepatocytic apoptosis, correlating with fragments of cytokeratin-18.


2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan-Juan Li ◽  
Ping Zhang ◽  
Bing Fan ◽  
Xiu-Li Guo ◽  
Zhe-Shu Zheng

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical efficacy and the possible mechanisms of saxagliptin in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) combined with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). METHODS A total of 95 T2DM and NAFLD patients were randomly divided into group A (saxagliptin group), group B (glimepiride group), and group C (glimepiride combined with polyene phosphatidylcholine group). RESULTS After intervention treatment for 24 w, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), fasting insulin (FINS), homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), interleukin-6 (IL-6), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), γ-glutamyltransferase (γ-GT), and quantitative detection of liver steatosis of study subjects were observed, the action of liver steatosis in subjects of groups A and C were significantly different from those of group B; however, there were no differences between groups A and C. The FINS, HOMA-IR, and IL-6 of subjects in group A was lower than those in groups B and C; however, there were no significant differences between the latter two groups. CONCLUSION For T2DM combined with NAFLD patients, the saxagliptin treatment could not only effectively control blood glucose but also attenuate insulin resistance and inflammatory injury of the liver to improve fatty liver further.


Author(s):  
R. V. Maslennikov ◽  
Yu. V. Evsyutina

Aim.  The aim of the review is to present current data on the relationship between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with the metabolic disorders of bile acids (BA) and changes in the composition of the intestinal microbiota.Background.  NAFLD is accompanied by a change in the intestinal microbiotic composition: the proportion of taxa deconjugating BAs increases, while the proportion of taxa converting primary BAs to secondary ones decreases. The number of bacteria forming lipopolysaccharide (LPS) also increases. LPS, entering the liver with the portal vein blood, promotes the development of its inflammation and insulin resistance. The disturbance of bile acid metabolism through the effect on the FXR and TGR5 receptors also leads to insulin resistance and liver steatosis. FXR probiotics and agonists are promising drugs for the NAFLD treatment.Conclusion.  In the course of NAFLD, a change in the composition of the intestinal microbiota is observed, which contributes to the development of inflammation in the liver and disrupts the metabolism of bile acids, leading to insulin resistance. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fan Du ◽  
Rongfeng Huang ◽  
Dan Lin ◽  
Yuying Wang ◽  
Xiaohuang Yang ◽  
...  

Resveratrol (RSV) is a potential alternative therapy for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) that has been evaluated in many clinical trials, but the mechanisms of RSV action have not been fully elucidated. Recent studies suggested that the gut microbiota is an important RSV target; therefore, we speculated that the gut microbiota might mediate the beneficial effects of RSV in NAFLD. To verify this hypothesis, we established a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced NAFLD mouse model, which was subjected to RSV gavage to evaluate the therapeutic effects. We observed that RSV reduced liver steatosis and insulin resistance in NAFLD. RSV significantly changed the diversity and composition of the gut microbiota according to 16S rRNA sequencing. Gut microbiota gene function prediction showed that the enrichment of pathways related to lipid and glucose metabolism decreased after RSV treatment. Furthermore, correlation analysis indicated that the improvements in NAFLD metabolic indicators were closely related to the altered gut microbiota. We further fermented RSV with the gut microbiota in vitro to verify that RSV directly affected the gut microbiota. Our data suggested that the gut microbiota might be an important target through which RSV exerts its anti-NAFLD effect.


2008 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suano de Souza ◽  
Silverio Amancio ◽  
Saccardo Sarni ◽  
Sacchi Pitta ◽  
Fernandes ◽  
...  

Objectives: To evaluate the frequency of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, the retinol serum levels, lipid profile, and insulin resistance in overweight/obese children. To relate these biochemical variables with the risk of this disease in the population studied. Methods: The study was cross-sectional and prospective, with 46 overweight/obese school children (28 female, 18 male; mean age 8.6 years). The control group consisted of 45 children, paired by age and gender. Hepatic steatosis, evaluated by ultrasound, was classified as normal, mild, moderate, or severe. Also evaluated were serum retinol levels; thiobarbituric acid reactive substances; lipid profile; and fasting glucose and serum insulin levels, used for the calculation of the Homeostasis Model Assessment. Results: Hepatic ultrasound alterations were found in 56.5% and 48,9% of the overweight/obese and control group children, respectively. Presence of obesity was associated with high levels of triglycerides (OR = 4.6; P = 0.002). In the studied children, the risk of steatosis was related to a trend to a higher percentage of retinol inadequacy (OR = 2.8; p = 0.051); there was no association with thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, lipid profile, or insulin resistance. Conclusions: The high frequency of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in both groups, evaluated by hepatic ultrasound, in low-socioeconomic level children, independent of nutritional condition and without significant association with insulin resistance, emphasizes that especially in developing countries, other risk factors such as micronutrient deficiencies (e.g. vitamin A) are involved.


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