Background
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (
NAFLD
) is the most common chronic liver disease worldwide, particularly in obese and type 2 diabetic individuals. NAFLD ranges in severity from benign steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (
NASH
); and NASH can progress to cirrhosis, primary hepatocellular carcinoma (
HCC
) and liver failure. As such, NAFLD has emerged as a major public health concern. Herein, we used a lipidomic and transcriptomic approach to identify lipid markers associated with western diet (
WD
) induced NASH in female mice.
Methods
Female mice (low-density lipoprotein receptor null (
Ldlr
-/-
) were fed a reference or WD diet for 38 and 46 weeks. Transcriptomic and lipidomic approaches, coupled with statistical analyses, were used to identify associations between major NASH markers and transcriptomic & lipidomic markers.
Results
The WD induced all major hallmarks of NASH in female
Ldlr
-/-
mice, including steatosis (SFA, MUFA, MUFA-containing di- and triacylglycerols), inflammation (
TNFα)
, oxidative stress
(Ncf2)
, and fibrosis
(Col1A)
. The WD also increased transcripts associated with membrane remodeling
(LpCat)
, apoptosis & autophagy (
Casp1
,
CtsS
), hedgehog (
Taz
) & notch signaling (
Hey1
), epithelial-mesenchymal transition (S1004A) and cancer (
Gpc3
). WD feeding, however, suppressed the expression of the hedgehog inhibitory protein (
Hhip
), and enzymes involved in triglyceride catabolism (
Tgh/Ces3
,
Ces1g)
, as well as the hepatic abundance of C
18-22
PUFA-containing phosphoglycerolipids (GpCho, GpEtn, GpSer, GpIns). WD feeding also increased hepatic cyclooxygenase (Cox1 & 2) expression and pro-inflammatory ω6 PUFA-derived oxylipins (PGE2), as well as lipid markers of oxidative stress (8-iso-PGF2α). The WD suppressed the hepatic abundance of reparative oxylipins (19, 20-DiHDPA) as well as the expression of enzymes involved in fatty epoxide metabolism (
Cyp2C
,
Ephx
).
Conclusion
WD-induced NASH in female
Ldlr
-/
-
mice was characterized by a massive increase in hepatic neutral and membrane lipids containing SFA and MUFA and a loss of C
18-22
PUFA-containing membrane lipids. Moreover, the WD increased hepatic pro-inflammatory oxylipins and suppressed the hepatic abundance of reparative o...