Development of Metabolic Disorders, Structural–Functional Changes of the Liver and Pancreas Against the Background of a High Calorie Carbohydrate and Fat Diets

Abstract

Obesity becoms one of the most common pathologies, which is accompanied by a violation of energy metabolism in the body, increased accumulation of fat in tissues. The development of visceral obesity can develop against the background of a high calorie diet that is unbalanced in terms of carbohydrates and fats.
 The aim of the research: study of the hormonal-metabolic profile, structural-functional peculiarities of the liver and pancreas under the conditions of animals’ receiving high-carbohydrate or high-fat diets in dynamics.
 Research methods. The study was performed using sexually mature male rats receiving a standard food diet (control group) and received the high-carbohydrate or high-fat diets. Animals were removed out of the experiment during the 21st, 35th, 46th and 56th days of the study. Metabolic indices and functional markers of the hepatopancreatobiliary system were determined in the blood serum of experimental rats. Structural peculiarities of the liver and pancreas were studied using optical microscopy.
 Results and discussion. As a result of the study, in animals that were on high calorie diet, a significant increase in the content of leptin and insulin was observed against the background of a decrease in the level of ghrelin in the blood serum of experimental rats during the 35th day of the experiment with the progression of the identified dyshormonal disorders until the 56th day. Such changes in the hormonal profile occurred against the background of an increase in the concentration of glucose in the blood serum, an increase in the content of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), an increase in the HOMA-IR insulin resistance index and body mass index (BMI). During the 21st day of the research, the activation of cytolytic processes (increased activity of alanine aminotransferase – ALT, aspartate aminotransferase – AST, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase – GGT, α-amylase, alkaline phosphatase – AF) was revealed; they progressed until the end of the experiment. During the morphological examination of the liver and pancreas in animals under the conditions of a high-fat diet, pronounced fatty infiltration was observed. In the pancreas of animals receiving the high calorie diet, morphological changes are manifested by edematous processes and disruption of the vascular component, with greater dominance in the case of a high-fat diet.
 Conclusions. The animals’ being on high-carbohydrate and high-fat diets leads to the development of metabolic disorders, functional and structural changes in the liver and pancreas, which characterize the development of insulin resistance, obesity, and metabolic syndrome.