Figure 2

Hepatic steatosis in wt and ApoE^−/− mice with or without WD or MCD diet.

(A) Levels of fasting glucose. ApoE^−/− mice fed with Western Diet (WD) showed abnormal fasting glucose levels compared to animals fed with normal chow or methionine and choline deficient (MCD) diet. (B) Hepatic triglyceride content expressed as percentage of wt mice. Levels of hepatic triglycerides were increased in ApoE^−/− mice fed with WD compared to mice fed with normal chow, but lower than in mice fed with MCD diet. (C) Serum lipoprotein profiles of mice fed WD. ApoE^−/− mice fed with WD showed shift in serum lipoprotein profile with high amount of very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) compared to wt. Levels of total (D) and free (E) hepatic cholesterol. ApoE^−/− fed with WD showed increased levels of total and free hepatic cholesterol in comparison to the other observed groups. (F) Desmosterol/cholesterol ratio was significantly increased in ApoE^−/− mice compared to the other observed groups. (G) Representative sections and (H) quantification (% of positive stained area) of Oil Red O histological staining, as marker of fat accumulation in the liver. ApoE^−/− mice fed WD showed significantly higher Oil Red O positive staining than wt mice. In mice fed with MCD diet slightly less Oil Red O positive staining was observed. Graphs are expressed as means± standard deviation. The scale bar is 100 μm. p < 0.05 was considered significant.