Sayed H Seif el-Din
Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, Egypt
Title: Treatment with pioglitazone, a thiazolidinedione insulin sensitizer, and/or β-carotene and diet control ameliorate liver function and metabolic markers in hyperlipidemic rats
Biography
Biography: Sayed H Seif el-Din
Abstract
Insulin resistance and oxidative stress are key pathophysiological mechanisms in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study was conceived to explore the effect of treatment with the insulin sensitizer, pioglitazone (PGZ) and/or the antioxidant, β-carotene (βC) on regression of NAFLD, in a rat experimental model induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) for twelve weeks. For an additional four weeks, rats were either maintained on HFD or switched to standard regular diet (RD) along with PGZ, βC alone or in combination. Serum lipid levels, liver function and antioxidant enzymes, adipocytokine markers were measured and liver injury was evaluated by histopathological examination. Liver sections of NAFLD-HFD rats revealed steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis. In addition, liver index, activities of serum liver enzymes ALT, AST, ALP, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), LDL and VLDL were elevated (P<0.05) versus normal. This was coupled with an increase in hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) and serum leptin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-) and transforming growth factor-1 (TGF-1) and depletion (P<0.05) of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, GSH content in liver, serum HDL and adiponectin compared with normal. These changes were to a less extent in NAFLD-RD group. Treatment with PGZ and/or C almost improves all previously mentioned parameters. Moreover, PGZ+C treatment decreased hepatic steatosis and markedly ameliorated inflammation than groups treated with each drug alone. In conclusion, data in this study indicate that βC can be used as promising adjuvant therapy to PGZ in treatment of NAFLD.