Trimethylamine N-oxide attenuates high-fat high-cholesterol diet-induced steatohepatitis by reducing hepatic cholesterol overload in rats

Figure 1 Trimethylamine N-oxide attenuates histological alterations with little effect on body weight in high-fat high-cholesterol diet-induced steatohepatitis. Six-week-old male rats were fed a high-fat high-cholesterol diet for 8 wk and then gavaged with trimethylamine N-oxide (120 mg/kg/day) once daily for 8 wk. Rats were sacrificed at the end of the 16th wk. A: Schematic illustration showing the design of the in vivo experiment; B: The body weight curves; C: The body weight at the 16th wk before sacrifice; D: The liver index; E: Epididymal white adipose tissue index; F: Representative hematoxylin and eosin staining of liver tissue. The data are presented as the mean ± SE (n = 10-14). ^aP < 0.05, vs rats fed a chow diet; ^bP < 0.01, vs rats fed a chow diet; ^cP < 0.05, vs rats fed a high-fat high-cholesterol diet; ^dP < 0.01, vs rats fed a high-fat high-cholesterol diet. eWAT: Epididymal white adipose tissue; TMAO: Trimethylamine N-oxide; HFHC: High-fat high-cholesterol.