Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis following feeding of high polyunsaturated fat diets

Most commonly used models of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are diets based on specific gene knockouts or represent extreme manipulations of diet. We have examined the effects of modest increased caloric intake and high dietary unsaturated fat content on the development of NASH in male rats using a model in which overfeeding is accomplished via intragastric infusion of liquid diets as a part of total enteral nutrition. Male Sprague dawley rats were fed diets 5% corn oil containing diets at 187 Kcal/kg3/4/d or fed 70% corn oil containing diets at 220 Kcal/kg3/4/d for a period of 3 weeks. Hepatic gene expression were assessed at the end of the study. Our results indicate that overfeeding of high unsaturated fat diets leads to pathological, endocrine and metabolic changes characteristic of NASH patients and is associated with increased oxidative stress and TNF-a.

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Baumgardner JN, Shankar K, Hennings L, Badger TM, Ronis MJ