Inflammation is critical step for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) development that progress cirrhosis and liver cancer. Lactoferrin (LF) is known a multifunctional protein such as anti-allergy, anti-inflammatory and anti-obesity effects. However, there is unclear understanding of how LF affects NASH. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effect of LF on inflammation in NASH model mice.
NASH model mice were generated by fed a choline-deficient methionine-defined high-fat diet (CDAHFD60) in male C57BL/6J mice. Mice were randomly assigned to 4 groups: standard diet; CDAHFD60; CDAHFD60 plus 2400 mg/kg LF; CDAHFD60 plus 4800 mg/kg LF. LF was mixed with drinking water and allowed to be freely taken for 15 days. At the end of experiment, the serum samples and liver tissues were collected. AST and ALT in serum were measured by assay kit and inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL1β and IL-6) in liver were examined by RT-qPCR.
The increase in AST and ALT induced CADHFD60 was significantly reduced by LF. Furthermore TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 expression levels in liver were increased by CADHD60, LF significantly suppressed that. Our results indicated that LF inhibited NASH development by suppressing inflammatory cytokines.