Published online Jun 14, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i22.5165
Peer-review started: January 19, 2016
First decision: February 18, 2016
Revised: March 1, 2016
Accepted: March 14, 2016
Article in press: March 14, 2016
Published online: June 14, 2016
Processing time: 135 Days and 14.4 Hours
AIM: To determine whether high-protein, high-fat, and low-carbohydrate diets can cause lesions in rat livers.
METHODS: We randomly divided 20 female Wistar rats into a control diet group and an experimental diet group. Animals in the control group received an AIN-93M diet, and animals in the experimental group received an Atkins-based diet (59.46% protein, 31.77% fat, and 8.77% carbohydrate). After 8 wk, the rats were anesthetized and exsanguinated for transaminases analysis, and their livers were removed for flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry, and light microscopy studies. We expressed the data as mean ± standard deviation (SD) assuming unpaired and parametric data; we analyzed differences using the Student’s t-test. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.
RESULTS: We found that plasma alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels were significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group. According to flow cytometry, the percentages of nonviable cells were 11.67% ± 1.12% for early apoptosis, 12.07% ± 1.11% for late apoptosis, and 7.11% ± 0.44% for non-apoptotic death in the experimental diet group and 3.73% ± 0.50% for early apoptosis, 5.67% ± 0.72% for late apoptosis, and 3.82% ± 0.28% for non-apoptotic death in the control diet group. The mean percentage of early apoptosis was higher in the experimental diet group than in the control diet group. Immunohistochemistry for autophagy was negative in both groups. Sinusoidal dilation around the central vein and small hepatocytes was only observed in the experimental diet group, and fibrosis was not identified by hematoxylin-eosin or Trichrome Masson staining in either group.
CONCLUSION: Eight weeks of an experimental diet resulted in cellular and histopathological lesions in rat livers. Apoptosis was our principal finding; elevated plasma transaminases demonstrate hepatic lesions.
Core tip: Obesity is a serious and growing health problem. A high-protein, high-fat, and low-carbohydrate diet known as the Atkins diet has been adopted since the 1970s. Many people adhere to this diet in an attempt to lose weight, and it has recently been introduced for children with difficult-to-control seizures and elderly suffering from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. The benefits and effects of the Atkins diet remain unclear, especially in hepatic metabolism. Since the primary metabolic reactions involving macronutrients occur in the liver, it is essential to understand the potential hepatic lesions that can result from dietary modifications.