PR002068 (Project)

Description:This project aimed to investigate the regulation of the hepatic lipidome in mice with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and liver fibrosis, and assess the differences in the hepatic lipidome in mouse strains susceptible or resistant to NASH and metabolic comorbidities. For this purpose, eight mouse strains were fed either a chow control diet or a western-style diet enriched in lipid, carbohydrate and cholesterol for 30-32 weeks, followed by in-depth metabolic phenotyping, assessment of liver pathology and the hepatic lipidome by LC/MS.  This study found that resistance to diet-induced NASH in BALB/c mice was associated with increased hepatic phosphatidylserine (PS) content. Subsequent studies focusing on overexpression of PS synthase 1 (PSS1) in the livers of mice with steatosis or NASH show that increasing hepatic PS is associated with improvements in steatosis and/or inflammation.