Fig. 5

NAFLD and NASH phenotypes observed in hC7aSPs adults. (A) Representative gross anatomy of the liver of 4-month-old WT (1) and hC7aSP1 (2) adults magnification (40×, scale bars: 20 mm). H&E stained livers of the WT (3, magnification 400×, scale bars: 20 μm) and hC7aSP1 (4, magnification 400×, scale bars: 20 μm) indicate that vacuoles in hepatocytes were increased in hC7aSP1. Lipid accumulation was confirmed through ORO-stained sections from adult WT (5, magnification 400×, scale bars: 10 μm) and hC7aSP1 liver tissues (6, magnification 400×, scale bars: 10 μm). (B) Western blot for two lipogenic factors, SREBP-1c and PPAR-γ, and two lipogenic enzymes, FAS and DGAT2, in the liver of WT and hC7aSPs adults. (C) Representative images of H&E staining of the 11-month-old WT (1, magnification 100×, scale bars: 10 μm; 2, magnification 400×, scale bars: 25 μm), hC7aSP1 (3, magnification 100×, scale bars: 10 μm; 4; magnification 400×, scale bars: 25 μm) and hC7aSP2 (5, magnification 100 × scale bars: 10 μm; 6, magnification 400×, scale bars: 25 μm) livers, demonstrating induced liver stress and damage in hC7aSPs compared with WT at the same stage. (D) Levels of hepatic MDA, and (E) H₂O₂ in hepatic mitochondria was compared between hC7aSPs and WT adults. (F) Expression of inflammatory genes, il-1b, il-6, tnf-α, ifn-γ, nfkb2, and NF-kB, is increased. (G) Expression of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress markers, atf6, ern2, ire1, prek, hspa5, grp78, and ddit3, is also increased. Levels of mRNA were normalized to β-actin and expressed as fold of values in the WT control. **p < 0.01; *p < 0.05.