Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2025
DNBS/TNBS Colitis Models: Providing Insights Into Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Effects of Dietary Fat
Published on: February 27, 2014
Dietary Amino Acid Source Elicits Sex-Specific Metabolic Response to Diet-Induced NAFLD in Mice
Clémence Rives1, Céline Marie Pauline Martin1, Lauris Evariste1
1Toxalim (Research Centre in Food Toxicology), INRAE, ENVT, INP-Purpan, UPS, Toulouse University, Toulouse, 31170, France.
Scope:
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a sexually dimorphic disease influenced by dietary factors. Here, the metabolic and hepatic effects of dietary amino acid (AA) source is assessed in Western diet (WD)-induced NAFLD in male and female mice.
Methods And Results:
The AA source is either casein or a free AA mixture mimicking the composition of casein. As expected, males fed a casein-based WD display glucose intolerance, fasting hyperglycemia, and insulin-resistance and develop NAFLD associated with changes in hepatic gene expression and microbiota dysbiosis. In contrast, males fed the AA-based WD show no steatosis, a similar gene expression profile as males fed a control diet, and a distinct microbiota composition compared to males fed a casein-based WD. Females are protected against WD-induced liver damage, hepatic gene expression, and gut microbiota changes regardless of the AA source.
Conclusions:
Free dietary AA intake prevents the unhealthy metabolic outcomes of a WD preferentially in male mice.
