Opisthorchis viverrini Infection Augments the Severity of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in High-Fat/High-Fructose Diet–Fed Hamsters

Abstract

The prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing worldwide, including in regions where helminth infections such as the fish-borne liver fluke <i>Opisthorchis viverrini</i> (<i>Ov</i>) also occur. We investigated the effects of a high-fat and high-fructose (HFF) diet on the development and progression of NAFLD in experimental opisthorchiasis. Two groups of hamsters were infected with <i>Ov</i> for 4 months before the experiment to induce chronic inflammation. One of these groups (<i>Ov</i>HFF) was fed with a HFF diet for up to further 4 months. One uninfected group of hamsters served as the normal control group, and another received the HFF diet (HFF group) for up to 4 months. Histopathology, biochemical parameters, and ultrastructural features of liver were investigated. In a short-term treatment, the <i>Ov</i>HFF group showed significantly better homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance level and lower liver lipid than did the HFF group. By contrast, histopathological characteristics of severe NAFLD were prominent in the <i>Ov</i>HFF group after 4 months on the HFF diet, findings which were supported by confirmatory ultrastructural changes. In conclusion, opisthorchiasis induced the severe NAFLD in hamsters fed high-fat/high-fructose diets.