cyclic-gmp and Non-alcoholic-Fatty-Liver-Disease

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome and is characterized by steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis. Soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulation reduces inflammation and fibrosis in experimental models of lung, kidney and heart disease. Here, we tested whether sGC stimulation is also effective in experimental NASH.. Mice with NASH showed reduced cGMP levels and sGC expression, increased steatosis, inflammation, fibrosis, TNF-α and MCP-1 levels and up-regulated collagen types I α1 and α2, MMP2, TGF-β1 and tissue metallopeptidase inhibitor 1 expression. IW-1973 restored hepatic cGMP levels and sGC expression resulting in a dose-dependent reduction of hepatic inflammation and fibrosis. IW-1973 levels were ≈40-fold higher in liver tissue than in plasma. IW-1973 also reduced hepatic steatosis and adipocyte hypertrophy secondary to enhanced autophagy in HFD-induced obese mice.. Our data indicate that sGC stimulation prevents hepatic steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis in experimental NASH. These findings warrant further evaluation of IW-1973 in the clinical setting.

Topics: Animals; Chromatography, Liquid; Cyclic GMP; Cytokines; Diet, High-Fat; Disease Models, Animal; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Inflammation; Liver Cirrhosis; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Soluble Guanylyl Cyclase; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Obesity-associated nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), covering from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), is a common cause of chronic liver disease. Aberrant production of adipocytokines seems to play a main role in most obesity-associated disorders. Changes in adipocytokines in obesity could be mediated by alterations in cyclic GMP (cGMP) homeostasis. The aims of this work were: (1) to study the role of altered cGMP homeostasis in altered adipocytokines in morbid obesity, (2) to assess whether these alterations are different in simple steatosis or NASH, and (3) to assess whether these changes reverse in obese patients after bariatric surgery.. In 47 patients with morbid obesity and 45 control subjects, the levels in blood of adipocytokines, cGMP, nitric oxide (NO) metabolites, and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) were studied. Whether weight loss after a bariatric surgery reverses the changes in these parameters was evaluated.. NO metabolites and leptin increase (and adiponectin decreases) similarly in patients with steatosis or NASH, suggesting that these changes are due to morbid obesity and not to liver disease. Inflammation and cGMP homeostasis are affected both by morbid obesity and by liver disease. The increases in interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 18 (IL-18), plasma cGMP, ANP, and the decrease in cGMP in lymphocytes are stronger in patients with NASH than with steatosis. All these changes reverse completely after bariatric surgery and weight loss, except IL-18.. Altered cGMP homeostasis seems to contribute more than inflammation to changes in leptin and adiponectin in morbid obesity.

Topics: Adipokines; Adult; Bariatric Surgery; Body Mass Index; Case-Control Studies; Chronic Disease; Cyclic GMP; Fatty Liver; Female; Homeostasis; Humans; Inflammation; Interleukin-18; Interleukin-6; Leptin; Male; Middle Aged; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Obesity, Morbid