Abstract
Background
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is indicated by liver steatosis without excessive alcohol use or other liver disease. Several studies have reported that metabolic syndromes such as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia have a linear correlation associated with NAFLD pathophysiology. One of the characteristics of dyslipidemia in NAFLD is increase in serum triglycerides. This study aimed to develop a model of NAFLD characterized by an increase in serum triglyceride levels and histological profile of liver steatosis by high-fat diet in rats.
Methods
Twelve Wistar rats were fed with pellets enriched with 60% fat. They were housed individually, and the remaining pellets were weighted every day for intake evaluation. Blood samples were collected at day 0 and at the end of each trial period at days 7, 14, 21, and 28 for the measurement of triglyceride levels. Every animal from each group was also sacrificed for liver histopathological examination.
Results
This study has established developing the NAFLD animal model by induction of a high-fat diet. The levels of serum triglycerides were increased from baseline 80.41 ± 12.82 to 1152.00 ± 73.62, 493.66 ± 159.98, 556.00 ± 120.79, and 489.00 ± 156.75 mg/dL at days 7, 14, 21, and 28, respectively. Liver histology also showed liver steatosis development, inflammation, and hepatocellular ballooning, which were associated with the NAFLD state.
Conclusions
High-fat diet in rats induced hypertriglyceridemia along with NAFLD-like liver histopathology.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Dr. Priangga Adi Wiratama, the pathologist who technically contributed to the histology examination.
Research funding: This work was supported by research grants from “Tahir Professorship Program” and PDUPT 2019 from Indonesian Ministry of Research Technology and Higher Education.
Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Competing interests: The authors state no conflict of interest.
Ethical approval: All experiments were performed at the Animal Research Laboratory of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Airlangga (Surabaya, Indonesia), in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals issued by the National Institutes of Health revised in 1985. The protocol was approved by the Ethical Committee of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia.
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