| Budget Amount *help |
¥18,590,000 (Direct Cost: ¥14,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥4,290,000)
Fiscal Year 2020: ¥6,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥5,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,500,000)
Fiscal Year 2019: ¥6,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥5,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,500,000)
Fiscal Year 2018: ¥5,590,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,290,000)
|
|---|
| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which occurs in association with insulin resistance and hepatic fat accumulation, confers high risk of liver fibrosis and chronic liver injury. In this study, using systemic α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (A7nAchR) knockout mice (A7KO), we investigated the role of A7nAchR in NASH. Specifically, A7KO mice were fed an atherogenic high-fat diet (AD), which induce NASH. Hepatic triglyceride accumulation and elevated plasma transaminase levels were observed in AD mice, and we found the plasma transaminase level increase was higher in A7KO mice than in control mice. A7KO mice fed an AD showed significant upregulation of fibrosis-related genes and proinflammatory-cytokine genes in the liver. Histological analysis with Sirius red revealed that AD exacerbated liver fibrosis in A7KO mice. From these findings, it is clear that A7nAchR deficiency exacerbates hepatitis and fibrosis due to hepatic fat accumulation.
|
