Glucosamine Improves Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Induced by High-Fat and High-Sugar Diet through Regulating Intestinal Barrier Function, Liver Inflammation, and Lipid Metabolism

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a liver disease syndrome. The prevalence of NAFLD has continued to increase globally, and NAFLD has become a worldwide public health problem. Glucosamine (GLC) is an amino monosaccharide derivative of glucose. GLC has been proven to not only be effective in anti-inflammation applications, but also to modulate the gut microbiota effectively. Therefore, in this study, the therapeutic effect of GLC in the NAFLD context and the mechanisms underlying these effects were explored. Specifically, an NAFLD model was established by feeding mice a high-fat and high-sugar diet (HFHSD), and the HFHSD-fed NAFLD mice were treated with GLC. First, we investigated the effect of treating NAFLD mice with GLC by analyzing serum- and liver-related indicator levels. We found that GLC attenuated insulin resistance and inflammation, increased antioxidant function, and attenuated serum and liver lipid metabolism in the mice. Then, we investigated the mechanism underlying liver lipid metabolism, inflammation, and intestinal barrier function in these mice. We found that GLC can improve liver lipid metabolism and relieve insulin resistance and oxidative stress levels. In addition, GLC treatment increased intestinal barrier function, reduced LPS translocation, and reduced liver inflammation by inhibiting the activation of the LPS/TLR4/NF-κB pathway, thereby effectively ameliorating liver lesions in NAFLD mice.