Morphological and functional characterization of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease induced by a methionine-choline-deficient diet in C57BL/6 mice.

Abstract

The histopathological changes and irreversible fibrosis seen in this model were caused by prolonged feeding of an MCD diet. These results were accompanied by changes in the activity of CD68-positive cells with temporary elevation of CCL-2, MMP-13, and MMP-9 levels, all of which may trigger early steatohepatitis and late fibrosis through phagocytosis-associated MMP induction.