Alleviation of Carbon-Tetrachloride-Induced Liver Injury and Fibrosis by Betaine Supplementation in Chickens

Abstract

Betaine is a food component with well-reported hepatoprotection effects. However, the effects and mechanisms of betaine on liver fibrosis development are still insufficient. Because metabolic functions of chicken and human liver is similar, we established a chicken model with carbon Tetrachloride- (CCl4-) induced fibrosis for studying antifibrotic effect of betainein vivoandin vitro. Two-week-old male chicks were supplemented with betaine (1%, w/v) in drinking water for 2 weeks prior to the initiation of CCl4treatment (i.p.) until sacrifice. Primary chicken hepatocytes were treated with CCl4and betaine to mimic thein vivosupplementation. The supplementation of betaine significantly alleviated liver fibrosis development along with the inhibition of lipid peroxidation, hepatic inflammation cytokine, and transforming growth factor-β1 expression levels. These inhibitive effects were also accompanied with the attenuation of hepatic stellate cell activation. Furthermore, ourin vitrostudies confirmed that betaine provides antioxidant capacity for attenuating the hepatocyte necrosis by CCl4. Altogether, our results highlight the antioxidant ability of betaine, which alleviates CCl4-induced fibrogenesis process along with the suppression of hepatic stellate cells activation. Since betaine is a natural compound without toxicity, we suggest betaine can be used as a potent nutritional or therapeutic factor for reducing liver fibrosis.