Liver fibrosis is a common pathological change in the liver of dairy cows with fatty liver

作者：Cai Zhang, Qi Shao, Mingchao Liu, Yuqin Wang, Juan J. Loor, Qianming Jiang, Shunan Cuan, Xinwei Li, Jianguo Wang, Yuanxiao Li, Lei He, Yong Huang, Guowen Liu, Lin Lei · 发表于：Journal of Dairy Science · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.3168/jds.2022-22021 · 被引用次数：36 · 研究领域：Reproductive Physiology in Livestock、Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology、Liver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment

Fatty liver (i.e., hepatic lipidosis) is a prevalent metabolic disorder in dairy cows during the transition period, characterized by excess hepatic accumulation of triglyceride (TG), tissue dysfunction, and cell death. Detailed pathological changes, particularly hepatic fibrosis, during fatty liver remain to be determined. Liver fibrosis occurs as a consequence of liver damage, resulting from the excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix, which distorts the architecture of the normal liver, compromising its normal synthetic and metabolic functions. Thus, we aimed to investigate liver fibrosis status and its potential causal factors including oxidative stress, hepatocyte apoptosis, and production of inflammatory cytokines in the liver of cows with fatty liver. Forty-five dairy cows (parity, 3-5) were selected, and liver biopsy and blood were collected on the second week postpartum (days in milk, 10-14 d). On the basis of the degree of lipid accumulation in liver, selected cows were categorized into normal (n = 25; TG <1% wet wt), mild fatty liver (n = 15; 1% ≤ TG <5% wet wt), and moderate fatty liver (n = 5; 5% ≤ TG <10% wet wt). Compared with normal cows, blood concentrations of nonesterified fatty acids and β-hydroxybutyrate, along with alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities, were greater in the cows with fatty liver (mild and moderate). Hepatic extracellular matrix deposition, as indicated by Picrosirius red staining, was greater in cows wit...