Avocado Oil Ameliorates Non‐Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease by Down‐Regulating Inflammatory Cytokines and Improving Mitochondrial Dynamics

Abstract

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is a chronic disease characterized by excessive fat accumulation, inflammation and liver dysfunction in the absence of significant alcohol consumption and without any other liver disease. NAFLD is accompanied by mitochondrial dysfunctions such as decreased activity of the enzymes of the electron transport chain (ETC), impaired β‐oxidation of fatty acids, excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and increased lipid peroxidation. These last two processes have been involved in liver inflammation by augmenting the activity of cytokines like TNF‐α, and IL‐6. Mitochondrial dynamics, a process that modulates both mitochondrial morphology and function by events of fusion and fission, also becomes impaired during NAFLD by exacerbating mitochondria fission. Previously, we have reported that avocado oil, a rich source of C18:1, bioactive sterols and antioxidants, attenuates both mitochondrial dysfunctions and oxidative stress during diabetes and hypertension. Therefore, we aimed to test if avocado oil attenuates NAFLD by counteracting the alterations in both cytokines levels and mitochondrial dynamics in rats feed with a diet with high fat and fructose for 4 months. This diet led to hepatic alterations including inflammation, ballooning, necrosis and increased expression of both TNF‐α and IL‐6. Increased levels of ROS production and lipid peroxidation were observed in mitochondria, along with augmented expression of DRP1 and Fis1, two proteins of fission, and decreased levels of fusion proteins Mfn1/2 and OPA1. All these effects were counteracted when avocado oil was supplemented daily after one month of the beginning of the diet up to the end of the experiment. These data suggest that avocado oil ameliorates NAFLD by decreasing inflammation and improving mitochondrial dynamics. Thus, avocado oil may be a nutritional approach to complement pharmacological treatment of NAFLD.Support or Funding InformationThis work was supported by a Coordinación de la Investigación Científica‐UMSNH grant (to CCR)This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.