GCMS used in fatty liver disease study

A protein that is potentially involved with the pathogenesis and/or progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been identified.

In a study by a team from the College of Animal Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, China, scientists noted that NAFLD is one of the most frequent causes of abnormal liver function, as an accumulation of fatty acid can be responsible for functional and morphological changes, Lipids in Health and Disease reported.

Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to evaluate the fatty acid composition of an experimental mouse model of NAFLD, induced through a high-fat diet and CC14, the team studied the changes over a six week period.

While on a high-fat diet, the mice were given regular injections of a 40 per cent CCl4-vegetable oil mixture twice per week.

They found that the high fat diet had led to an increase in some proteins and a drop of others within the liver, as well as a rise in SFA and decreases in other fatty acids.

This suggests that the fatty acids in mice with NAFLD are "deranged", which may be involved in the way the disease forms of progresses.

Posted by Neil Clark