The study employed a rat model to examine the effects of taurine (Tau) on prevention and therapy of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In model rats maintained on a high-fat diet (HFD), the serum levels of ALT, AST, triglycerides, cholesterol, and LDL were higher than the corresponding levels in normal control and NP groups (p<0.05). In Tau-prevention and Tau-treatment groups, the serum levels of AST and triglycerides were lower than in HFD rats (p<0.05). In HFD rats, diffuse fatty degeneration and infiltration with inflammatory cells was observed in the liver; in the ileal mucosa, the villi were fractured or absent, the epithelium was exfoliated and infiltrated with inflammatory cells. The levels of TGF-β, IL-9, and their mRNA in the liver and ileal mucosa of HFD rats were significantly higher than in normal control and NP groups (p<0.05). In Tau-prevention and Tau-treatment groups, these levels were significantly lower than in HFD rats (p<0.05). Thus, TGF-β and IL-9 can be implicated in NAFLD genesis, while Tau can preventively or therapeutically diminish the damage to the liver and ileal mucosa in rats with this disease by down-regulating the expression of TGF-β and IL-9.
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Translated from Byulleten’ Eksperimental’noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 171, No. 5, pp. 613-619, May, 2021
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Yao, Z., Liang, G., Lv, Z.L. et al. Taurine Reduces Liver Damage in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Model in Rats by Down-Regulating IL-9 and Tumor Growth Factor TGF-β. Bull Exp Biol Med 171, 638–643 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10517-021-05285-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10517-021-05285-2