Meeting Abstract
Diets high in fat have been shown induce non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is characterized by steatosis, inflammation, and metabolic changes in the liver. To investigate the metabolic and physiological effects of dietary fats and carbohydrates, adult mice were placed on low-fat (62% carb, 7% fat, 20% protein), Western (36% carb, 36% fat, 20% protein) and ketogenic diets (5% carb, 71% fat, 20% protein) for 8 weeks. Changes in physiology were analyzed by measuring changes in body composition, histology, and hepatic gene expression. At 8 weeks, there was a significant increase in body, ependymal fat pad, and liver weights in both Western and ketogenic mice, relative to mice fed the low-fat diet. The increased liver weight corresponded with observable increase in lipid accumulation (steatosis) in liver sections. Furthermore, an increase in left ventricle thickness was observed with both diets high in fat Analysis of the expression of 84 hepatic genes associated with NAFLD indicated that exposure to Western and ketogenic diets resulted in altered expression of genes associated with insulin resistance, lipid accumulation, hepatocyte injury, and an increase in blood cholesterol. However, the ketogenic diet mice also induced expression of anti-inflammatory genes. Thus, the results suggest that an increase in dietary fat, independent of carbohydrates, can lead to early signs of NAFLD; however, a ketogenic diet may induce anti-inflammatory mechanisms that could delay disease progression.
