Vitamin B5 and N-Acetylcysteine in Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis: A Preclinical Study in a Dietary Mouse Model.

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the number one cause of chronic liver disease and second indication for liver transplantation in the Western world. Effective therapy is still not available. Previously we showed a critical role for caspase-2 in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the potentially progressive form of NAFLD.

Accumulation of duct cells with activated YAP parallels fibrosis progression in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background & Aims: Mechanisms that regulate regeneration of injured livers are complex. YAP, a stem cell associated factor, controls liver growth in healthy adult mice. Increasing nuclear localization of YAP triggers accumulation of reactive-appearing ductular cells (YAP+RDC) with liver progenitor capabilities.

Mouse models of diet-induced nonalcoholic steatohepatitis reproduce the heterogeneity of the human disease.

Background And Aims: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the potentially progressive form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is the pandemic liver disease of our time. Although there are several animal models of NASH, consensus regarding the optimal model is lacking. We aimed to compare features of NASH in the two most widely-used mouse models: methionine-choline deficient (MCD) diet and Western diet.