Nutrient-deficient NASH Diets
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic condition affecting more than 30% of adults in the Western world that is characterized by accumulation of excess fat in the liver (hepatic steatosis) of people who drink little to no alcohol. While typically not considered a serious condition, NAFLD can develop into non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which is a fatty liver accompanied by inflammation and various degrees of fibrosis that may develop into cirrhosis or HCC. There are no current FDA approved treatments for NASH, making pre-clinical drug development a top priority in the field. NASH is modeled pre-clinically through diets, inflammatory results, use of transgenic mice or a combination thereof.
Available Nutrient-deficient NASH Diet Models
Methionine and Choline Deficient Diet (MCD)
Choline Deficient, High Fat Diet (CHDFD)
Available Readout Options
Body weight
Liver enzyme assessment
Liver histopathology
Below are histology images of livers from Normal Diet (A) and NASH Diet Animals (E) at 9 weeks in mice. Images are 20x high magnification.
Normal Diet Liver, 9 weeks
A3: H&E stain. The vacuolation is of the glycogen-type (the pale areas have wispy outlines and the nucleus remains central). A4: MT stain. Collagen stains blue and is limited to the walls of larger blood vessels and portal triads.
NASH Diet Liver, 9 weeks
E3: H&E stain of a severely affected liver. Arrows point to oval cell hyperplasia. Red arrows: Hepatocytes showing macro-vesicular lipidosis. E4: M&T stain of a severely affected liver. There is significant sinusoidal fibrosis.
Both models induce hepatic steatosis, liver damage and progressive fibrosis. Contact us to learn more about study design and to discuss your research needs.
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