Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents a hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of betaine on ultrastructural changes in the mouse liver with methionine- and choline-deficient (MCD) diet-induced NAFLD. Male C57BL/6 mice were divided into groups: Control—fed with standard chow, BET—standard chow supplemented with betaine (1.5% w/v drinking water), MCD—fed with MCD diet, and MCD + BET—MCD diet with betaine supplementation for 6 weeks. Liver samples were taken for pathohistology and transmission electron microscopy. The MCD diet-induced steatosis, inflammation, and balloon-altered hepatocytes were alleviated by betaine. MCD diet induced an increase in mitochondrial size versus the control group (p < 0.01), which was decreased in the betaine-treated group. In the MCD diet-fed group, the total mitochondrial count decreased versus the control group (p < 0.01), while it increased in the MCD + BET group versus MCD (p < 0.01). Electron microscopy showed an increase in the number of autophagosomes in the MCD and MCD + BET group versus control, and a significant difference in autophagosomes number was detected in the MCD + BET group by comparison with the MCD diet-treated group (p < 0.05). Betaine decreases the number of enlarged mitochondria, alleviates steatosis, and increases the number of autophagosomes in the liver of mice with NAFLD.

中文翻译：

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甜菜碱补充剂对蛋氨酸 - 胆碱缺乏饮食诱导的 NAFLD 肝组织和超微结构变化的影响

非酒精性脂肪性肝病 (NAFLD) 代表代谢综合征的肝脏表现。本研究的目的是检查甜菜碱对蛋氨酸和胆碱缺乏 (MCD) 饮食诱导的 NAFLD 小鼠肝脏超微结构变化的影响。雄性 C57BL/6 小鼠被分成几组：对照组——喂食标准食物，BET——添加甜菜碱（1.5% w/v 饮用水）的标准食物，MCD——喂食 MCD 饮食和 MCD + BET——MCD 饮食和甜菜碱补充6周。采集肝脏样本进行病理组织学和透射电子显微镜检查。甜菜碱可缓解 MCD 饮食引起的脂肪变性、炎症和球囊改变的肝细胞。与对照组相比，MCD 饮食诱导线粒体大小增加（p< 0.01)，甜菜碱治疗组下降。在 MCD 饮食喂养组中，总线粒体计数低于对照组（p< 0.01），而 MCD + BET 组与 MCD 相比有所增加（p< 0.01)。电镜显示 MCD 和 MCD + BET 组自噬体数量与对照组相比有所增加，与 MCD 饮食治疗组相比，MCD + BET 组自噬体数量存在显着差异。p< 0.05)。甜菜碱可减少增大的线粒体数量，减轻脂肪变性，并增加 NAFLD 小鼠肝脏中自噬体的数量。