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Article commented: Azzalini L, Ferrer E, Ramalho LN, Moreno M, Domínguez M, Colmenero J, Peinado VI, et al. Cigarette Smoking Exacerbates Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Obese Rats. Hepatology 2010; 51: 1567-1576. Comment In the article we will comment today, Azzalini et al. provide a novel evidence suggesting that cigarette smoking (CS) causes oxidative stress and worsens the severity of non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in an experimental model of Zucker obese rats. Smoker rats were exposed to 2 cigarettes/day, 5 days/week for 4 weeks. As expected, obese rats showed hypercholesterolemia, insulin resistance and histological features of NAFLD. Smoking did not modify the lipidic or glucidic serum profiles. Smoking increased alanine amonitrasferase (ALT) serum levels and the degree of liver injury in obese rats, whereas it only induced minor changes in control rats. The authors explain the possible mechanism involved in the deleterious effect of CS through the increase of oxidative stress and hepatocellular apoptosis in obese rats, but not in controls and therefore this explains the increment in the histological severity of NAFLD. Smoking increased the hepatic expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 and procollagen-alpha2 in obese but not in control rats. Finally, smoking regulated extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) and AKT phosporylation. It is important to mention that the deleterious effects of CS were not observed after a short exposure, therefore longer or chronic exposures (as it happens with smokers) are necessary to induce the liver damage.

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2010-06-01   |   1,130 visitas   |   Evalua este artículo 0 valoraciones

Vol. 9 Núm.2. Abril-Junio 2010 Pags. 215-218 Ann Hepatol 2010; 9(2)