title: Establishment of an alcoholic fatty liver disease model in mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD) defines an important stage in the progression of alcoholic liver disease (ALD), which is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To establish a mouse model of AFLD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Male C57BL/6 mice were divided into the following two groups: (i) a control group, which was allowed free access to food and water and (ii) an alcohol-treated group, which was administered a 15% (v/v) alcohol solution instead of water. After 8-9 months of treatment, serum biochemical indexes, histopathological changes, liver triglyceride content, iron storage, and ferritin light chain protein expression were measured using an automatic biochemical analyzer, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, a commercially available kit, Prussian blue staining, and Western blot analysis, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the control group, the alcohol-treated group displayed increased levels of serum LDH, ALT, and AST, decreased levels of ALB, and no significant change in levels of TP. Additionally, increased levels of serum TG, T-CHO, and LDL and decreased levels of serum GLU and HDL were observed in the alcohol-treated mice. HE staining showed that lipid vacuolization occurred in the livers of alcohol-treated mice. The alcohol-treated mice also exhibited increased liver triglyceride content. Moreover, Prussian blue staining and Western blot analysis demonstrated that chronic alcohol administration caused iron overloading of the liver.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Chronic administration of 15% (v/v) alcohol in the drinking water over 8-9 months caused AFLD in mice. Our results establish an AFLD model that represents a promising tool for the future study of the progression of ALD.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology , Harbin Medical University , Harbin , China.|b Translational Medicine Center of Northern China , Harbin , China.
authors.forename: Peizhu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology , Harbin Medical University , Harbin , China.|b Translational Medicine Center of Northern China , Harbin , China.|c Department of Clinical Laboratory , Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital , Harbin , China.
authors.forename: Huan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology , Harbin Medical University , Harbin , China.|b Translational Medicine Center of Northern China , Harbin , China.
authors.forename: Junhui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology , Harbin Medical University , Harbin , China.|b Translational Medicine Center of Northern China , Harbin , China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Diao
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology , Harbin Medical University , Harbin , China.|b Translational Medicine Center of Northern China , Harbin , China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology , Harbin Medical University , Harbin , China.|b Translational Medicine Center of Northern China , Harbin , China.
authors.forename: Baoyu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology , Harbin Medical University , Harbin , China.|b Translational Medicine Center of Northern China , Harbin , China.
authors.forename: Tingting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology , Harbin Medical University , Harbin , China.|b Translational Medicine Center of Northern China , Harbin , China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology , Harbin Medical University , Harbin , China.|b Translational Medicine Center of Northern China , Harbin , China.
authors.forename: Yanze
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology , Harbin Medical University , Harbin , China.|b Translational Medicine Center of Northern China , Harbin , China.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology , Harbin Medical University , Harbin , China.|b Translational Medicine Center of Northern China , Harbin , China.
authors.forename: Lingyun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: d Department of Gastroenterology , Heilongjiang Province Hospital , Harbin , China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000410:Alanine Transaminase; D000818:Animals; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D019392:Cytochrome P-450 CYP2E1 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005235:Fatty Liver, Alcoholic / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood; D008049:Lipase / Q000097:blood; D008075:Lipoproteins, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL / Q000097:blood; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018384:Oxidative Stress
chemical_list: D008075:Lipoproteins, HDL; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL; D000431:Ethanol; D002784:Cholesterol; D007501:Iron; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D019392:Cytochrome P-450 CYP2E1; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase; D008049:Lipase
keywords: Alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD); alcoholic liver disease (ALD); iron; serum biochemical indexes; triglyceride