Effects of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease on Visfatin and IL-6 Levels in Mice: An Immunohistochemical Study

Abstract

Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) includes a wide range of diseases from simple fatty liver to steatohepatitis, fibrosis and cirrhosis. Alcoholic fatty liver disease and its more serious form, NAFLD, are related mostly to obesity and insulin resistance. Adipokines, secreted form fatty tissues, increases with weight gain and body-mass index (BMI). Previous studies showed that most adipokines increased with liver steatosis but changes of visfatin and IL-6 levels are still controversial. We applied a high dose fructose diet to mice via adding 30% w/v fructose to the drinking water for 4-6 weeks. High levels of liver damage and NAFLD were observed within the experiment group. Visfatin and IL-6 levels were also evaluated using immunohistochemistry. We found high levels of liver damage in fructose group along with increased levels of biochemical liver damage markers. Both IL-6 and visfatin staining were observed higher in the fructose group. Our study suggests that the IL-6 and visfatin levels were increased with obesity and liver damage. We aimed that this study will create an opportunity for new research with IL-6 and visfatin.