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Rapid Development of Fasting-Induced Hepatic Lipidosis in the American Mink (Neovison vison): Effects of Food Deprivation and Re-Alimentation on Body Fat Depots, Tissue Fatty Acid Profiles, Hematology and Endocrinology

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Lipids

Abstract

Hepatic lipidosis is a common pathological finding in the American mink (Neovison vison) and can be caused by nutritional imbalance due to obesity or rapid body weight loss. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the timeline and characterize the development of hepatic lipidosis in mink in response to 0–7 days of food deprivation and liver recovery after 28 days of re-feeding. We report here the effects on hematological and endocrine variables, body fat mobilization, the development of hepatic lipidosis and the alterations in the liver lipid classes and tissue fatty acid (FA) sums. Food deprivation resulted in the rapid mobilization of body fat, most notably visceral, causing elevated hepatosomatic index and increased liver triacylglycerol content. The increased absolute amounts of liver total phospholipids and phosphatidylcholine suggested endoplasmic reticulum stress. The hepatic lipid infiltration and the altered liver lipid profiles were associated with a significantly reduced proportion of n-3 polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) in the livers and the decrease was more evident in the females. Likewise, re-feeding of the female mink resulted in a more pronounced recovery of the liver n-3 PUFA. The rapid decrease in the n-3/n-6 PUFA ratio in response to food deprivation could trigger an inflammatory response in the liver. This could be a key contributor to the pathophysiology of fatty liver disease in mink influencing disease progression.

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Abbreviations

ADR:

Adrenal

ALT:

Alanine aminotransferase

BMI:

Body mass index

BW:

Body weight

CE:

Cholesteryl esters

CerPCho:

Sphingomyelin

CHOL:

Cholesterol

DG:

Diacylglycerols

ER:

Endoplasmic reticulum

FA:

Fatty acid

FFA:

Free fatty acids

HOMA:

Homeostasis model assessment

HSI:

Hepatosomatic index

MUFA:

Monounsaturated fatty acids

NAFLD:

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

P:

Plasma

PL:

Phospholipids

PtdCho:

Phosphatidylcholine

PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acids

RF:

Re-fed

SFA:

Saturated fatty acids

T3 :

Triiodothyronine

T4 :

Thyroxine

TAG:

Triacylglycerol

UFA:

Unsaturated fatty acids

UPR:

Unfolded protein response

VLDL:

Very-low-density lipoprotein

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Discovery Grant to KRW, NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award to CP and RC), the Canada Mink Breeders’ Association, the Nutricia Research Foundation, the Finnish Fur Breeders’ Association, the Academy of Finland (A-MM and PN), the Mink Farmer’s Research Foundation, Fur Commission USA and the Heger Company. We thank Rae MacInnis, Annette Murphy and Cindy Crossman, the staff of the Canadian Centre for Fur Animal Research, as well as Dr. Tess Astatkie, Dr. Gordon Finley, DVM, Dr. Bruce Ramsay, DVM, Lana Crewe, Jody Muise, Jennifer Dobson, Rauni Kojo and Marja-Liisa Martimo-Halmetoja for the skillful logistical support during this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant and Animal Sciences, Nova Scotia Agricultural College, P.O. Box 550, Truro, NS, B2N 5E3, Canada

    Kirsti Rouvinen-Watt, Rebecca Conway, Catherine Pal & Lora Harris

  2. Faculty of Biosciences, University of Joensuu, P.O. Box 111, 80101, Joensuu, Finland

    Anne-Mari Mustonen, Ursula Strandberg & Petteri Nieminen

  3. Department of Biology, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 3000, 90014, Oulu, Finland

    Seppo Saarela

  4. Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 5000, 90014, Oulu, Finland

    Petteri Nieminen

  5. Department of Biomedicine, Institute of Anatomy, University of Kuopio, P.O. Box 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland

    Petteri Nieminen

Authors
  1. Kirsti Rouvinen-Watt
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  2. Anne-Mari Mustonen
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  3. Rebecca Conway
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  4. Catherine Pal
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  6. Seppo Saarela
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  7. Ursula Strandberg
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  8. Petteri Nieminen
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Correspondence to Kirsti Rouvinen-Watt.

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Rouvinen-Watt, K., Mustonen, AM., Conway, R. et al. Rapid Development of Fasting-Induced Hepatic Lipidosis in the American Mink (Neovison vison): Effects of Food Deprivation and Re-Alimentation on Body Fat Depots, Tissue Fatty Acid Profiles, Hematology and Endocrinology. Lipids 45, 111–128 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-009-3377-4

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