Methionine-choline deficient (MCD) diet induces nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and natural killer T (NKT) cell accumulation.

<p>(A) Representative images of hematoxylin and eosin (H & E) staining of mice fed the MCD diet for 1 week and 4 weeks or the control (CTR) diet. Scale bar, 100 μm. (B) Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and triglyceride (TG) levels in MCD diet-fed mice over 8 weeks. <i>N</i> = 4–6, *<i>P</i> < 0.05 vs. MCD diet week 0, paired <i>t</i>-test. (C) Intrahepatic NK1.1⁺ T (NKT) cells were evaluated by flow cytometry in MCD diet-fed mice over 6 weeks. <i>N</i> = 5–6, **<i>P</i> < 0.01, Student’s <i>t</i>-test. (D) Intrahepatic NKT cells, natural killer (NK) cells, and NK1.1^- T (T) cells were measured by flow cytometry in MCD diet-fed mice for 1, 2, 4, 6, or 8 weeks. <i>N</i> = 2–6, *<i>P</i> < 0.05, vs. MCD 0 week, paired <i>t</i>-test. (E) Effects of 1 week of MCD diet on NKT cell subsets in mononuclear cells of the liver, colonic lamina propria, spleen, mesenteric lymph node (MLN), and intraperitoneal cavity in wild-type mice. Black and hatched bars represent NKT type I and type II cells, respectively. <i>N</i> = 4, *<i>P</i> < 0.05, **<i>P</i> < 0.01, Student’s <i>t</i>-test. (F) Effects of 1 week of MCD diet on type I and type II NKT cell subsets in the lamina propria in Jα18^-/- and CD1d^-/- mice, as measured by flow cytometry. <i>N</i> = 4, *<i>P</i> < 0.05, Student’s <i>t</i>-test. All data represent the mean ± standard error of the mean (s.e.m.).