Figure 1

Physical characterisation of the model. (a) Body weight in grams (g) per week. Mice were weighed 1 week before treatment (week zero), then twice a week for 12 weeks before alcohol administration. Mice were weighed at week 13 end point, 1 week after the last alcohol dose. Mice on HFD and Alc+HFD showed maximum weight gain over the 13-week period compared with chow fed mice (Chow). Alcohol had a slight increase in weight over Chow, but did not reach significance. Data are mean±s.e.m.; significance by Student’s t-test. (b) Liver-to-body weight ratio increased with Alcohol and Alc+HFD. Increase in the liver weight was observed with all treatments compared with the Chow: Alcohol 1.23-fold; HFD 1.11-fold; Alc+HFD 1.15-fold, but reached significance only with Alcohol and Alc+HFD (n=7–8). Data are mean±s.d.; *P<0.05, ***P<0.001 from Chow, ^†P<0.05 from Alcohol (only in a). Alc+HFD, Alcohol+high fat diet.