A new method to induce nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in mice

BackgroundGeneral overnutrition is one of the key factors involved in the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) as the most common liver disease occur by two steps of liver injury ranges from steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Here the effect of fructose, fat-rich and western diet (WD) feeding was studied along with aggravative effect of cigarette smoking on liver status in mice.MethodsSixty-four male NMRI mice were included in this study and assigned into 4 groups that fed standard, fructose-rich, high fat-, and western-diet for 8weeks and then each group divided in two smoker and nonsmoker subgroups according to smoke exposing in the last 4weeks of feeding time (n=8). Histopathological studies, serum biochemical analyses and hepatic TNF-alpha level were evaluated in mice to compare alone or combination effects of dietary regimen and cigarette smoking.ResultsSerum liver enzymes and lipid profile levels in WD fed mice were significantly higher than in other studied diets. Exposing to cigarette smoke led to more elevation of serum biochemical parameters that was also accompanied by a significant increase in hepatic damage shown as more severe fat accumulation, hepatocyte ballooning and inflammation infiltrate. Elevated TNF-alpha level confirmed incidence of liver injury.ConclusionThe finding of this study demonstrated that a combination of cigarette smoke exposure and WD (rich in fat, fructose, and cholesterol) could induce a more reliable mouse model of NASH.