Vitamin D deficiency aggravates the liver metabolism and inflammation in ovariectomized mice

A prevalence of vitamin D deficiency has been reported in association with the postmenopause. Thus, we aimed to experimentally study the effect of the vitamin D deficiency and ovariectomy, alone or combined, in the liver damage.

Three-months-old female mice C57BL/6 with bilateral ovariectomy (Ovx group, n = 30) or a sham procedure (n = 30) were separated feeding control diet (C, n = 15) or a diet restricted in vitamin D (D-, n = 15) during additional 12 weeks.

Body mass (BM) and blood pressure (BP) were higher in Ovx than in C animals, but highest in Ovx (D-) that also showed glucose intolerance/ insulin resistance. Plasmatic lipids, alanine aspartase transferase, and hepatic steatosis were increased because of the combination of Ovx and D-. However, D- had little implication in the changes of the BM and BP, but affected hepatic steatosis. Gene and protein expressions demonstrated an impaired glucose uptake in the liver because of Ovx and D-, and an increase in lipogenesis and decrease in beta-oxidation in the liver associated more to the Ovx, but also evident in D-. Also, interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha showed an enhancement due to dietary restriction of vitamin D.

The findings demonstrated that ovariectomy and dietary restriction of vitamin D are inducers of harmful effects on the liver of mice, enhancing lipogenesis and inflammation and compromising beta-oxidation. The treatment of vitamin D deficiency is simple and not costly and can reduce the impact of menopause on metabolism and especially the liver.