Background
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common liver disorders in industrialized Western countries. The prevalence of the disease is estimated to range from 4% to 46% worldwide. The
Conclusion
We can assume that the presented model based on the HFHCh diet induced gradual development of NAFLD. We confirmed that the animal NAFLD model increases LPS secretions during disease progression.
Methods
Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a high-fat and high-cholesterol (HFHCh) diet. The rats from the study and control groups were sacrificed after 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 weeks of dietary exposure.
Results
Analysis of biochemical parameters showed that after only two weeks, ALT and cholesterol concentration in serum were elevated. After 4 weeks, TNF-α and HOMA-IR were significantly higher compared to the control group. NAFLD progression started after 12 weeks of diet-weight gain and increased LPS secretions were noticed. During the experiment, rats induced steatosis (from stage 0/1 after 4 weeks to stage 2/3 after 20 weeks), inflammation (from stage 0/1 after 4 weeks to stage 1/2 after 20 weeks), and fibrosis (from stage 1 after 12 weeks to stage 2 after 20 weeks).