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

Figure 3 Trimethylamine N-oxide alleviates liver injury by mitigating hepatic endoplasmic reticulum stress and cell death in rats fed a high-fat high-cholesterol diet. A: Representative immunoblots from three rats in each group; B-E: Densitometric quantification from three rats in each group. Relative protein levels normalized to β-actin except for phosphorylated c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), which was normalized to endogenous JNK. The data are presented as the mean ± SE (n = 3). ^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. JNK: c-Jun N-terminal kinase; TMAO: Trimethylamine N-oxide; HFHC: High-fat high-cholesterol.