The Induction of Intestinal Inflammation by Methionine- and Choline-Deficient Diet

Inflammatory digestive diseases, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), influence overall health. Substantial evidence supports the methionine- and choline-deficient (MCD) diet inducing non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in mice, but little is known about the diet’s effect on the intestine, where nutrients first encounter host cells. The abundance of macrophages in the intestine may also influence intestinal inflammation. Therefore, this study seeks to determine the signaling pathways and primary cell types responsible for MCD diet-induced intestinal inflammation well as the mechanisms for inhibiting this inflammation. In the in vivo experiment, wild-type C57BL/6J mice consumed either the chow or MCD diet for four weeks. For all in vitro experiments, cells proliferated in either control or MCD medium and each experimental group was also treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce inflammation. In the original in vitro study, cultured intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) from a mouse cell line were treated and harvested. Western blotting revealed elevated levels of inflammation from animal and cell samples. In the final cell study, the macrophages responded most potently to the proinflammatory treatments. The findings elucidated by these studies highlight the intestine as a major contributor to NAFLD and NASH progression and a suitable target for digestive disease preventio