Oxidative stress and Liver X Receptor agonist induce hepatocellular carcinoma in Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis model.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The incidence of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is progressively increasing. However, the pathophysiology and etiology of NASH progression to HCC are unknown. We hypothesized that steatosis was the key factor in NASH-related hepatocarcinogenesis and aimed to evaluate the effects of long-term liver X receptor (LXR) agonist stimulation on hepatic steatosis induced by a high-fat diet and oxidative stress.

METHODS: We used an LXR agonist (T0901317) and CCl4 to induce hepatic steatosis and oxidative stress, respectively. C57BL/6 mice fed with a high-fat diet were treated with either T0901317 + CCl4 (T09 + CCl4 group) or CCl4 alone (CCl4 group). T0901317 (2.5 mg/kg) and CCl4 (0.1 mL/kg) were intraperitoneally administered twice weekly for 24 weeks.

RESULTS: The liver-to-body weight ratio was significantly higher in the T09 + CCl4 group than in the CCl4 group. Mice in the T09 + CCl4 group exhibited abnormal lipid metabolism and NASH-like histopathological features. Additionally, all mice in the T09 + CCl4 group developed liver tumors diagnosed as well-differentiated HCC. The genes identified via microarray analysis were related to NASH and HCC development.

CONCLUSIONS: By combining long-term LXR agonist stimulation with oxidative stress and a high-fat diet, we successfully reproduced liver conditions in mice similar to those in humans with NASH and progression to HCC. Our results provide new insight into NASH-related HCC progression and therapy.