Vitamin C alleviates alcoholic liver injury by suppressing neutrophil infiltration in senescence marker protein 30-knockout mice irrespective of its antioxidant effects

Abstract

AimsAlcoholic liver disease (ALD) comprises an important component in chronic liver diseases, and its clinical significance has increased due to the high consumption of alcohol worldwide. Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant, and several previous studies have suggested that its therapeutic role in ALD is derived from its antioxidant role. However, its anti-inflammatory role in ALD remains to be elucidated. Especially, the relationship between vitamin C and infiltration of neutrophils in ALD has not been discussed to date. For the reason, the present study investigated the precise role of vitamin C in neutrophil infiltration in ALD. Main methodsIn the present study, wild-type C57BL/6 and vitamin C-deficient senescence marker protein 30-knockout mice were pair-fed with a Lieber–DeCarli control or ethanol diet. Ethanol-fed groups were fed with increasing concentrations of EtOH (Lieber–DeCarli control diet for 5 days, 3% EtOH diet for a week, and 5% diet for 2 weeks) with or without vitamin C supplementation. Key findingsVitamin C dramatically attenuated the ethanol-mediated liver disease in the vitamin C-deficient ethanol-fed mice group by suppressing the infiltration of neutrophils accompanied by less CD68-positive cell infiltration. This attenuating role of vitamin C in neutrophil infiltration in the liver is associated with its protective effect for the ethanol-mediated intestinal damage in vitamin C-deficient ethanol-fed mice. SignificanceThis study provides a novel possibility of vitamin C to be used as an anti-inflammatory therapeutic agent associated with neutrophil infiltration in ALD, thereby helping to establish strategies for attenuating ALD.