Lab Anim Res.  2017 Jun;33(2):157-164. 10.5625/lar.2017.33.2.157.

Comparative study of fatty liver induced by methionine and choline-deficiency in C57BL/6N mice originating from three different sources

• Kim SH
• Lim Y
• Park JB
• Kwak JH
• Kim KJ
• Kim JH
• Song H
• Cho JY
• Hwang DY
• Kim KS
• Jung YS

• KMID: 2407430
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5625/lar.2017.33.2.157

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is believed to be the most prevalent liver disease worldwide and a major cause of chronic liver injury. It is characterized by lipid accumulation in the absence of significant alcohol consumption and frequently progresses to steatohepatitis, liver fibrosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Although many studies have been conducted to better understand NAFLD since it was first recognized, there are still many gaps in knowledge of etiology, prognosis, prevention and treatment. Methionine-choline deficient (MCD) diet, a well-established experimental model of NAFLD in rodents, rapidly and efficiently produces the clinical pathologies including macrovesicular steatosis and leads to disease progression. In this study, we measured the response to MCD diet in C57BL/6N mice obtained from three different sources; Korea NIFDS, USA, and Japan. We evaluated changes in body weight, food consumption, and relative weights of tissues such as liver, kidney, gonadal white adipose tissue, inguinal white adipose tissue, and brown adipose tissue. These basic parameters of mice with an MCD diet were not significantly different among the sources of mice tested. After 3 weeks on an MCD diet, histopathological analyses showed that the MCD diet induced clear fat vacuoles involving most area of the acinus in the liver of all mice. It was accompanied by increased serum activities of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, and decreased levels of serum triglyceride and cholesterol. In conclusion, the response of C57BL6N mice originating from different sources to the MCD diet showed no significant differences as measured by physiological, biochemical, and histopathological parameters.

Keyword

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; methionine-choline deficient diet; C57BL/6N

MeSH Terms

Adipose Tissue, Brown
Adipose Tissue, White
Alanine Transaminase
Alcohol Drinking
Animals
Aspartate Aminotransferases
Body Weight
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular
Cholesterol
Diet
Disease Progression
Fatty Liver*
Gonads
Japan
Kidney
Korea
Liver
Liver Cirrhosis
Liver Diseases
Methionine*
Mice*
Models, Theoretical
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Pathology
Prognosis
Rodentia
Triglycerides
Vacuoles
Weights and Measures
Alanine Transaminase
Aspartate Aminotransferases
Cholesterol
Methionine

Figure

• 

  Figure 1 Changes in body weight (A) and food consumption (B) of mice originating from different sources following 3 weeks of the MCD diet. “C57BL/6NKorl” from the National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation in Korea; “A:C57BL/6N” from vendor in the United States; “B:C57BL/6N” from vendor in Japan.

• 

  Figure 2 Effect of MCD diet for 3 weeks on the body weight (A) and relative weights of tissues including liver (B), kidney (C), gWAT (D), iWAT (E), and BAT (F) of mice originating from three different sources. *, **, *** Significantly different from the corresponding control mice (ANOVA followed by Newman-Keuls multiple range test, P<0.05, 0.01, 0.001, respectively). “C57BL/6NKorl” from the National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation in Korea; “A:C57BL/6N” from vendor in the United States; “B:C57BL/6N” from vendor in Japan.

• 

  Figure 3 Effect of MCD diet for 3 weeks on the lipid accumulation in the liver of mice originating from three different sources. It was accomplished by staining with Oil red O. 40X magnification. “C57BL/6NKorl” from the National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation in Korea; “A:C57BL/6N” from vendor in the United States; “B:C57BL/6N” from vendor in Japan.

• 

  Figure 4 Effect of MCD diet for 3 weeks on the activities of (A) alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and (B) aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and the levels of (C) total cholesterol and (D) triglycerides in the serum of mice originating from three different sources. **, *** Significantly different from the corresponding control mice (ANOVA followed by Newman-Keuls multiple range test, P<0.05, 0.01, 0.001, respectively). “C57BL/6NKorl” from the National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation in Korea; “A:C57BL/6N” from vendor in the United States; “B:C57BL/6N” from vendor in Japan.

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