Diet-induced metabolic hamster model of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Jasmine Bhathena, Arun Kulamarva, Christopher Martoni, Aleksandra Malgorzata Urbanska, Meenakshi Malhotra, Arghya Paul, Satya Prakash
Biomedical Technology and Cell Therapy Research Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Artificial Cells and Organs Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada

Background: Obesity, hypercholesterolemia, elevated triglycerides, and type 2 diabetes are major risk factors for metabolic syndrome. Hamsters, unlike rats or mice, respond well to diet-induced obesity, increase body mass and adiposity on group housing, and increase food intake due to social confrontation-induced stress. They have a cardiovascular and hepatic system similar to that of humans, and can thus be a useful model for human pathophysiology.
Methods: Experiments were planned to develop a diet-induced Bio F₁B Golden Syrian hamster model of dyslipidemia and associated nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in the metabolic syndrome. Hamsters were fed a normal control diet, a high-fat/high-cholesterol diet, a high-fat/high-cholesterol/methionine-deficient/choline-devoid diet, and a high-fat/high-cholesterol/choline-deficient diet. Serum total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, atherogenic index, and body weight were quantified biweekly. Fat deposition in the liver was observed and assessed following lipid staining with hematoxylin and eosin and with oil red O.
Results: In this study, we established a diet-induced Bio F₁B Golden Syrian hamster model for studying dyslipidemia and associated nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in the metabolic syndrome. Hyperlipidemia and elevated serum glucose concentrations were induced using this diet. Atherogenic index was elevated, increasing the risk for a cardiovascular event. Histological analysis of liver specimens at the end of four weeks showed increased fat deposition in the liver of animals fed with a high-fat/high cholesterol diet, as compared to animals fed with the control diet.
Conclusion: Our study established that hamsters fed with a high-fat/high-cholesterol diet developed fatty liver and mild diabetes. Bio F₁B hamsters fed with a high-fat/high-cholesterol diet may thus be a good animal model for research on the treatment of diet-induced metabolic syndrome complicated by nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Keywords: fatty liver disease, in vivo model, diet, atherogenic index, obesity