Original Article
Copyright ©2013 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. May 14, 2013; 19(18): 2761-2771
Published online May 14, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i18.2761
Lipoic acid suppresses portal endotoxemia-induced steatohepatitis and pancreatic inflammation in rats
Yu-Feng Tian, Chih-Tsueng He, Yu-Ting Chen, Po-Shiuan Hsieh
Yu-Feng Tian, Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Yung Kung Campus, Chi-Mei Medical Center, Tainan 710, Taiwan
Yu-Feng Tian, Department of Health and Nutrition, Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Tainan 717, Taiwan
Chih-Tsueng He, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei 114, Taiwan
Yu-Ting Chen, Po-Shiuan Hsieh, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 114, Taiwan
Po-Shiuan Hsieh, Department of Medical Research, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei 114, Taiwan
Author contributions: All authors participated in designing the study, analyzing and interpreting the data, and approved the final version of the manuscript; Tian YF, He CT and Chen YT conducted the experiments; Hsieh PS wrote the manuscript.
Supported by Grants from the National Science Council of the ROC, No. NSC98-2320-B-016-011 MY3, CMNDMC 100-05 and TSGH-C100-011-015-S03
Correspondence to: Po-Shiuan Hsieh, MD, PhD, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, National Defense Medical Center, 161, Section 6 Min-Chuan East Road, Taipei 114, Taiwan. pshsieh@hotmail.com
Telephone: +886-2-87923100 Fax: +886-2-87924827
Received: December 11, 2012
Revised: February 11, 2013
Accepted: February 28, 2013
Published online: May 14, 2013
Processing time: 153 Days and 16.4 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip:α-lipoic acid (LA), a potent antioxidant and also an inducer of endogenous antioxidants has been reported to protect the liver and pancreas from injury. Our observations suggest that LA could significantly suppress inflammatory change of steatosis induced by low-dose intraportal lipopolysaccharide infusion and associated deterioration of insulin secretion in this metabolic syndrome rodent model. In addition, our data suggest that hepatic toll-like receptor 4 signaling might not only play a significant role in chronic fructosefeeding-induced hepatic steatosis but also in its subacute inflammatory change induced by mild portal endotoxemia and associated extrahepatic disorders.