Assessment of Fatty Liver in Models of Disease Programming

Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is currently the most common cause of chronic liver disease worldwide and is present in a third of the general population and the majority of individuals with obesity and type 2 diabetes. Importantly, NAFLD can progress to severe nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), associated with liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma. Recent research efforts have extensively focused on identifying factors contributing to the additional "hit" required to promote NALFD disease progression. The maternal diet, and in particular a high-fat diet (HFD), may be one such hit "priming" the development of severe fatty liver disease, a notion supported by the increasing incidence of NAFLD among children and adolescents in Westernized countries. In recent years, a plethora of key studies have used murine models of maternal obesity to identify fundamental mechanisms such as lipogenesis, mitochondrial function, inflammation, and fibrosis that may underlie the developmental priming of NAFLD. In this chapter, we will address key considerations for constructing experimental models and both conventional and advanced methods of quantifying NAFLD disease status.

Improvement in Menopause‐Associated Hepatic Lipid Metabolic Disorders by Herbal Formula HPC03 on Ovariectomized Rats

“…The OVX group compared to the SHAM group showed tissue lipid accumulation between body weight and increased abdominal fat, as described in previous other studies [ 1 , 43 ]. The estrogen treatment with OVX prevented weight gain and increased adiposity.…”

“…Based on in vitro experimental results, we attempted to confirm the results in an in vivo system of a menopause animal model in which nonalcoholic fatty liver was induced. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine e OVX group compared to the SHAM group showed tissue lipid accumulation between body weight and increased abdominal fat, as described in previous other studies [1,43]. e estrogen treatment with OVX prevented weight gain and increased adiposity.…”

“…Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a broad concept that includes an excessive accumulation of triglyceride in the liver, from nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and cirrhosis [ 1 – 3 ]. For an accurate definition of nonalcoholic fats, secondary causes such as heavy alcohol intake or drugs that induce fat accumulation in the liver must be eliminated.…”

Programming mediated by fatty acids affects uncoupling protein 1 (UCP-1) in brown adipose tissue

“…Diet, besides its impact on health and disease, can also influence the offspring's phenotype, depending on what the mother ate during gestation and lactation periods (1)(2)(3) . Experimental models showed that it is expected to find phenotypes of body weight loss in the neonate and obesity and cardiometabolic risk in the offspring whose maternal diets were poor in proteins (12) , rich in fats (13) and Western diet style (14) , respectively. A similar process occurs between diet and BAT: diet can stimulate (15) and programme the development of this tissue, as it can act directly on the uncoupling protein 1 (UCP-1) (16) .…”