nicotinamide-beta-riboside and Alcoholism

Chronic alcohol abuse is common and a leading cause of alcoholic liver disease (ALD). However, a safe and effective therapy for ALD is still elusive. In this study, we evaluated the utility of adult zebrafish as an in vivo model for rapid assessment of drug efficacy in ethanol-induced acute hepatic injury. We exposed adult zebrafish to 0.5 % ethanol for 24, 48, and 72 hours and measured serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities. This treatment resulted in a significant increase in ALT levels at 48 and 72 h of ethanol treatment, compared to untreated control groups. Accompanying this, significant increases in mRNA expression of genes associated with inflammation was observed in the liver during ethanol exposure. To evaluate the effectiveness of drug testing using our zebrafish model for ethanol-induced acute hepatic injury, we investigated the protective function of nicotinamide riboside, a substrate for NAD

Topics: Alanine Transaminase; Alcoholism; Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Ethanol; Gene Expression Regulation; Inflammation; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic; Niacinamide; Pyridinium Compounds; Riboflavin; Time Factors; Zebrafish