Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate Dampens Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver by Modulating Liver Function, Lipid Profile and Macrophage Polarization

Abstract

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) has been shown to attenuate obesity, fatty liver disease, hepatic inflammation and lipid profiles. Here, we validate the efficacy of EGCG in a murine model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and extend the mechanistic insights. NAFLD was induced in mice by a high-fat diet (HFD) with 30% fructose. EGCG was administered at a low dose (25 mg/kg/day, EGCG-25) or high dose (50 mg/kg/day, EGCG-50) for 8 weeks. In HFD-fed mice, EGCG attenuated body and liver weight by ~22% and 47%, respectively, accompanied by ~47% reduction in hepatic triglyceride (TG) accumulation and ~38% reduction in serum cholesterol, resonating well with previous reports in the literature. In EGCG-treated mice, the hepatic steatosis score and the non-alcoholic steatohepatitis activity score were both reduced by ~50% and ~57%, respectively, accompanied by improvements in hepatic inflammation grade. Liver enzymes were improved ~2–3-fold following EGCG treatment, recapitulating previous reports. Hepatic flow cytometry demonstrated that EGCG-fed mice had lower Ly6C+, MHCII+ and higher CD206+, CD23+ hepatic macrophage infiltration, indicating that EGCG impactedM1/M2 macrophage polarization. Our study further validates the salubrious effects of EGCG on NAFLD and sheds light on a novel mechanistic contribution of EGCG, namely hepatic M1-to-M2 macrophage polarization. These findings offer further support for the use of EGCG in human NAFLD.

Keywords

• non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
• epigallocatechin-3-gallate
• inflammation
• macrophage polarization