Aging promotes progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in mice

Epidemiological studies indicate that age has strong impact on the natural course of NAFLD but the underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon are elusive. The aim of this study was to assess whether there are age dependent differences in lipid metabolism and NASH development in primary hepatocytes and a murine model, respectively. Methods and Results: Upon Stimulation with free fatty acids hepatocytes isolated from 4 week old mice revealed significantly higher lipid accumulation than hepatocytes isolated from 14 week old mice. Furthermore, we started feeding a NASH-inducing Western type diet (high fat, fructose an…