High carbohydrate diet induces nonalcoholic steato-hepatitis (NASH) in a desert gerbil

A high intake of sugars has been linked to diet-induced health problems. The aim of this study was to assess whether the long-term consumption of a high-carbohydrate diet (HCD) would cause the hepatic histopathological and metabolic abnormalities that characterize nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in a desert gerbil, Gerbillus gerbillus. Compared to natural diet, HCD leads to several metabolic disorders including adiposity, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, ectopic fat deposition in the liver, which were associated with higher levels of transcripts of genes involved with fat synthesis, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and fibrosis. In the same way, the experimented animals showed enhanced oxidative stress. Taken together, these results demonstrate that HCD consumption in gerbils induces metabolic disorders and damaged liver, which are key contributors to NASH development. These results suggest that this rodent represents a valuable natural model for human diet-induced metabolic disorders and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).