Fig. 4.

NAC attenuated chronic ethanol-induced hepatic TG accumulation and the decline of Akt phosphorylation at Thr308 in mice. Mice were treated with NAC (100 mg/kg body weight/d) or equal volume of sterile saline, and exposed to ethanol-containing liquid diet or control diet for 4 weeks. Histological examination and the determination of liver TG levels showed that NAC significantly suppressed chronic ethanol-induced fat accumulation in liver sections and the increase of hepatic TG levels (a)&(b); (c) Serum TG levels; (d) Results of western blotting showed that IGF-1 treatment increased the phosphorylation of Akt at ser473 and thr308. **P<0.01, compared with the Control group mice; ^#P<0.01, compared with the ethanol group mice.