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Consumption of grapes modulates gene expression, reduces non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and extends longevity in female C57BL/6J mice provided with a high-fat western-pattern diet
Grapes are thought to ameliorate the negative impact of Western diets. In this study by Dave et al. (2022), the authors evaluated the impact of grapes in an animal experiment using female C57BL/6J mice. The mice consumed a standard (semi-synthetic) diet (STD) from the age of six weeks up to 11 weeks, thereafter they were divided into groups receiving either STD, a high-fat diet (HFD, simulating the Western diet), an STD plus 5% standardized grape powder (STD5GP) or an HFD plus 5% standardized grape powder (HFD5GP). The dietary intervention continued for 13 weeks, thereafter the animals were euthanized, followed by sample collection (hepatic biomarkers, histology, and RNA sequencing). Genetic expression analysis revealed substantially enhanced protein synthesis, RNA and mitochondrial functioning, glutathione pathways, drug metabolism, oxidative stress, and detoxification pathways in STD5GP mice compared to STD controls. These gene expression differences were explained by the upregulation of oxidative stress-reducing and detoxifying genes Gstp1, Gss, Gpx7, Sod1, Gpx4, and Gpx8. Genetic expression analysis of the HFD groups demonstrated a substantial upregulation in fat metabolism, transportation, sequestration, hydrolysis, and downregulation in lipid content and cholesterol synthesis, with 5GP supplementation. These gene expression differences were further explained by observing a discrepancy in metabolic pathways responsible for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and Alzheimer’s disease with 5GP supplementation. Histological analysis demonstrated the development of NAFLD with exposure to HFD, which was attenuated by 5GP supplementation. In a final experiment to determine the impact of GP on animal survival, C57BL/6J mice at the age of four weeks received STD for 10 weeks, followed by HFD or HFD5GP (n = 100/group). The others noted that HFD5GP mice lived longer in comparison to HFD mice. The authors conclude that grape supplementation ameliorates oxidative damage & NAFLD, enhances fatty acid metabolism, and improves survival when coupled with HFD. [NPID: C57BL/6J mice, RNA sequencing, grapes, high fat diet, metabolic diseases, nutrigenomics]
Year: 2022
