The mRNA levels of PPARα, HIF-1α, and VEGF in the liver tissues of rats with alcoholic liver disease.

Objective: To investigate the mRNA levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα), hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the liver tissues of rats with alcoholic liver disease.

Methods: A total of 50 Wistar rats were randomly divided into a 4-week model group ( = 10), an 8-week model group ( = 10), a 12-week model group ( = 10), a 16-week model group ( = 10), and a control group ( = 10). The control group got the same volume of distilled water, and the rats in the model groups were given ethanol to establish alcoholic liver disease model. The mRNA levels of PPARα, HIF-1α, and VEGF in the rats' liver tissues, the fatty liver degree, and the inflammation degree in each group were examined and compared.

Results: The liver tissues in 4 model groups showed a more worsened fatty liver degree and inflammation degree than those in control group ( < 0.05). With the extension of the modeling time, the fatty liver degree and inflammation levels were significantly increased ( < 0.05). All the model groups showed lower mRNA level of PPARα, and higher levels of HIF-1α and VEGF than the control group ( < 0.05). With the extension of the modeling time, the relative mRNA level of PPARα was decreased, while the mRNA levels of HIF-1α and VEGF increased (all < 0.05). The fatty liver degree and inflammation level were negatively correlated with the PPARα mRNA level ( = -0.899, -0.893, < 0.05) and positively correlated with the HIF-1α and VEGF mRNA levels ( = 0.791, 0.679, 0.744, 0.597, < 0.05). The PPARα mRNA level was negatively correlated with HIF-1α and VEGF mRNA levels ( = -0.732, -0.681, < 0.05).

Conclusion: High PPARα mRNA levels and low HIF-1α and VEGF mRNA levels in the liver tissues of rats with alcoholic liver disease may be closely related to fatty liver and inflammation reactions.