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Human non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a little-understood condition that significantly increases the risk of inflammation, fibrosis and liver cancer and ultimately requires liver transplant. NAFLD has been difficult to study mainly because we had no good animal model, said corresponding author Dr. Karl-Dimiter Bissig, who was at Baylor during the development of this project and is now at Duke University.
The disease has both genetic and nutritional components, which have been hard to understand in human studies, and murine models until now had not accurately reflected typical characteristics of human livers with the disease.
Part mouse, part human
Closer to human – mouse model more accurately reproduces fatty liver disease
Human non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a little-understood condition that significantly increases the risk of inflammation, fibrosis and liver cancer and ultimately requires liver transplant.
A chimeric mouse model of NAFLD. On the left, a microscopy image of H&E-stained chimeric liver sections showing separation of liver cells from human or murine origin. Note that the fatty, white filling inside human cells is not present in the murine cells. On the right, the bar graph quantifies macro- and microvesicular steatosis (the abnormal retention of fat within the cells) in human and murine chimeric liver tissue. Image courtesy of the authors/
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Mouse model closely reproduces human fatty liver disease
A team at Baylor College of Medicine and other institutions has developed a novel mouse model that reproduces many key features of human non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a little-understood condition that significantly increases the risk of inflammation, fibrosis and liver cancer and ultimately requires liver transplant. With this model, researchers have an opportunity to advance the understanding and treatment of this serious condition for which there is no effective therapy. The study appeared in JHEP Reports.
“NAFLD has been difficult to study since we had no good animal model,” said corresponding author Dr. Karl-Dimiter Bissig, who was at Baylor during the development of this project and is now at Duke University.
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IMAGE: TTUHSC s Duke Appiah, Ph.D., and a team of collaborators recently completed a study to see if the presence of excess visceral and pericardial fat results in a lower risk for. view more
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As demonstrated by multiple studies over the years, women who breastfeed have a lower risk for developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes when compared to those who don t or can t. However, the mechanisms by which these risks are reduced for lactating women are still not fully understood.
Duke Appiah, Ph.D., an assistant professor of public health at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and director of the university s master s program in public health, said the presence of excess fat, specifically visceral and pericardial fat could help explain this finding. Using that hypothesis, Appiah and a team of researchers recently completed a study titled, The Association of Lactation Duration with Visceral and Pericardial Fat Volumes in Parous Wom
Breastfeeding Lowers Risk of Cardiovascular Disease by Hannah Joy on April 9, 2021 at 6:33 PM
Link between lactation and visceral and pericardial fat has been found, as they play a crucial role in reducing heart disease in breastfeeding women.
Breastfeeding affects weight gain, and so women who breastfeed will not gain more weight, which will also influences less fat buildup in the abdomen or around their heart.
As demonstrated by multiple studies over the years, women who breastfeed have a lower risk for developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes when compared to those who don t or can t. However, the mechanisms by which these risks are reduced for lactating women are still not fully understood.