Possible involvement and the mechanisms of excess trans-fatty acid consumption in severe NAFLD in mice.
OBJECTIVE
Excessive trans-fatty acids (TFA) consumption has been thought to be a risk factor mainly for coronary artery diseases while less attention has been paid to liver disease. We aimed to clarify the impact of TFA-rich oil consumption on the hepatic pathophysiology compared to natural oil.


METHODS
Mice were fed either a low-fat (LF) or high-fat (HF) diet made of either natural oil as control (LF-C or HF-C) or partially hydrogenated oil, TFA-rich oil (LF-T or HF-T) for 24 weeks. We evaluated the liver and body weight, serological features, liver lipid content and composition, liver histology and hepatic lipid metabolism-related gene expression profile. In addition, primary cultures of mice Kupffer cells (KCs) were evaluated for cytokine secretion and phagocytotic ability after incubation in cis- or trans-fatty acid-containing medium.


RESULTS
The HF-T-fed mice showed significant increases of the liver and body weights, plasma alanine-aminotransferase, free fatty acid and hepatic triglyceride content compared to the HF-C group, whereas the LF-T group did not differ from the LF-C group. HF-T-fed mice developed severe steatosis, along with increased lipogenic gene expression and hepatic TFA accumulation. KCs showed increased tumor necrosis factor secretion and attenuated phagocytotic ability in the TFA-containing medium compared to its cis-isomer.


CONCLUSIONS
Excessive consumption of the TFA-rich oil up-regulated the lipogenic gene expression along with marked hepatic lipid accumulation. TFA might be pathogenic through causing severe steatosis and modulating the function of KCs. The quantity and composition of dietary lipids could be responsible for the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
Obara
Noriyuki
N
Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryo, Aobaku, Sendai 980-8574, Japan.
Fukushima
Koji
K
Ueno
Yoshiyuki
Y
Wakui
Yuta
Y
Kimura
Osamu
O
Tamai
Keiichi
K
Kakazu
Eiji
E
Inoue
Jun
J
Kondo
Yasuteru
Y
Ogawa
Norihiko
N
Sato
Kenta
K
Tsuduki
Tsuyoshi
T
Ishida
Kazuyuki
K
Shimosegawa
Tooru
T
D054392:Adipokines / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D007728:Kupffer Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000187:drug effects; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism; D044242:Trans Fatty Acids / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism
D054392:Adipokines; D016207:Cytokines; D004041:Dietary Fats; D044242:Trans Fatty Acids; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt