RESEARCH UPDATE Animal Models of Alcoholic Liver Disease—Focus on the Intragastric Feeding Model

The use of animal models has contributed to greater understanding of how alcoholic liver disease (ALD) develops, and of how the severity of liver injury is influenced by factors other than alcohol, such as nutrition, oxygen deprivation (as occurs with sleep apnea or smoking), and gene regulation. This article focuses on the use of one animal model in particular, the intragastric feeding model in rats. This model allows scientists to rigorously control an animal’s consumption of both alcohol and dietary nutrients and is providing important information on the mechanisms of injury of alcoholic liver disease. KEY WORDS: animal model; alcoholic liver disorder; disease course; disease severity; gene regulation; biochemical mechanism; genetics and heredity; nutrition; oxygen