Hyperlipidemic chicken as a model of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is part of the spectrum of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), currently the most common cause of abnormal liver tests. Given the difficulty of studying all the factors involved in it in human populations, studies in animal models might provide crucial insights in the pathogenesis of steatohepatitis. Several physiological features predispose birds to fat deposition in the liver. The present study was conceived to explore the possibilities of the chicken fed a cholesterol and fat enriched diet as a model for steatohepatitis. We used two different diets: a standard growing mash (control group) and a standard growing mash enriched with 2% cholesterol and 20% palm oil (hyperlipidemic group). We investigated the effect of feeding a cholesterol and fat enriched diet, on plasma lipid levels, liver enzymes and hepatic histopathology. Semiquantitative and quantitative assessment by image analysis was performed to determine changes in lipid deposits and inflammatory infiltration. Statistically significant increases were observed in all plasma lipid parameters, liver macroscopic features, fat deposits and cell-ballooning of hepatocytes between control and hyperlipidemic animals. Significant differences were also observed in the inflammatory infiltration parameters (number of foci, density, area and maximal diameter). Results show that diet-induced hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia are associated with severe impairment of liver histology (fat accumulation, inflammation and cell-ballooning), reproducing histological features of human NAFLD. This model, which is easy and reproducible, offers economic and technical advantages. Furthermore, the reversibility of the pathologic changes makes it suitable for drug intervention studies of steatohepatitis.