Figure 7.

Effects of knockdown of SAA1/2 on steatohepatitis and metabolic syndrome in HFD mice. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a HFD for 6 weeks, and their tail vein was then injected with AAV8-shRNA-sc or AAV8-shRNA-SAA1/2 and further fed by a HFD for 10 weeks. (A) Schematic of the experimental design of AAV8-shRNA treatment in HFD-mice model. (B) Plasma concentrations of SAA from mice treated with AAV8-shRNA-sc or AAV8-shRNA-SAA1/2 (n = 10). (C) Body weight during 16 weeks HFD feeding (n = 10). (D) Fasting blood glucose in mice (n = 10). (E, F) GTT (E) and ITT (F) in mice (n = 7). (G, H) Representative images (G) and quantifications (H) of F4/80-positive macrophages area of representative liver sections (n = 6). Scale bar, 20 μm. (I) mRNA levels of inflammatory mediators in the liver of HFD-fed mice (n = 11–12). (J) TG (left) and TCH (right) levels in the plasma of HFD-fed mice (n = 10). (K) The liver weights of AAV8-shRNA-SAA1/2 mice and controls at 16 weeks post-HFD administration (n = 10). (L) Liver TG (left) and TCH (right) levels in mice (n = 10). (M) Representative images showing H&E staining (top) and Oil Red O staining (bottom) of liver sections of mice. Scale bar, 50 μm. (N) Quantifications of lipid droplet area in Oil Red O staining of representative liver sections (n = 6). (O) Plasma levels of ALT in mice (n = 10). All data are expressed as means ± SEMs. ∗P < 0.05, ∗∗P < 0.01, ∗∗∗P < 0.001. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)