PUBLICATION

The Effect of Taurine on Hepatic Steatosis Induced by Thioacetamide in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Authors

Hammes, T.O., Pedroso, G.L., Hartmann, C.R., Escobar, T.D., Fracasso, L.B., da Rosa, D.P., Marroni, N.P., Porawski, M., and da Silveira, T.R.

ID

ZDB-PUB-111027-11

Date

2012

Source

Digestive Diseases and Sciences 57(3): 675-682 (Journal)

Registered Authors

Keywords

nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, taurine, thioacetamide, zebrafish, SIRT1

MeSH Terms

Animals
Disease Models, Animal
Fatty Liver/chemically induced*
Fatty Liver/drug therapy*
Fatty Liver/pathology
Female
Lipid Metabolism/drug effects
Lipid Peroxidation/drug effects
Liver/pathology
Male
Oxidative Stress/drug effects
Receptors, Adiponectin/genetics
Sirtuin 1/genetics
Taurine/pharmacology*
Thioacetamide/toxicity*
Triglycerides/blood
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/genetics
Zebrafish
Zebrafish Proteins/genetics

PubMed

21997755 Full text @ Dig. Dis. Sci.

Abstract

Background:

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is one of the most prevalent forms of chronic liver disease in the Western world. Taurine is a conditionally essential amino acid in humans that may be a promising therapy for treating this disease.

Aim:

>To evaluate the effect of taurine on hepatic steatosis induced by thioacetamide in Danio rerio.

Methods

Animals were divided into four groups: control (20 μl of saline solution), taurine (1,000 mg/kg), thioacetamide (300 mg/kg), and the taurine–thioacetamide group (1,000 + 300 mg/kg). Thioacetamide was injected intraperitoneally three times a week for 2 weeks. The mRNA expression, lipoperoxidation, antioxidant enzymatic activity, and histological analyses were evaluated in the liver and the triglyceride content was assessed in the serum.

Results:

Thioacetamide injection induced steatosis, as indicated by histological analyses. The lipoperoxidation showed significant lipid damage in the thioacetamide group compared to the taurine–thioacetamide group (p < 0.001). Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the taurine–thioacetamide group (5.95 ± 0.40) was significantly increased compared to the thioacetamide group (4.14 ± 0.18 U SOD/mg of protein) (p < 0.001). The mRNA expression of SIRT1 (0.5-fold) and Adiponectin receptor 2 (0.39-fold) were lower in the thioacetamide group than the control (p < 0.05). TNF-α mRNA expression was 6.4-fold higher in the thioacetamide group than the control (p < 0.05). SIRT1 mRNA expression was 2.6-fold higher in the taurine–thioacetamide group than in the thioacetamide group.

Conclusions:

Taurine seems to improve hepatic steatosis by reducing oxidative stress and increasing SIRT1 expression.

Genes / Markers

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Phenotype

Mutations / Transgenics

Human Disease / Model

Sequence Targeting Reagents

Fish

Antibodies

Orthology

Engineered Foreign Genes

Mapping