OBJECTIVETo observe the impact of the JNK inhibitor XG-102 in a diet-induced rat model of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

METHODSForty-eight Sprague-Dawley male rats were subjected to a percutaneous superior mesenteric vein retention catheter operation and fed with a standard diet for 10 days, after which the rats were randomly divided into the following three groups: normal control (NC) group; high-fat (HF) model group; XG-102 treatment group. The HF group was fed an HF diet and treated with 0.9% sodium chloride for 16 weeks. The XG-102 group was fed an HF diet for 16 weeks and simultaneously treated with XG-102 (1 mg/kg) once per day for 4 weeks. The levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), homeostasis model of assessment insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFa) were measured. Liver histological changes were observed. The protein expressions of phospho-c-Jun and cleaved caspase-3 were detected by western blotting.

RESULTSCompared with the NC group, the HF group showed significantly higher levels of serum ALT, AST, TC, TG, HOMA-IR and TNFa (P<0.05). Compared with the HF group, the XG-102 group showed significantly lower levels of serum ALT, AST, TC, TG, HOMA-IR and TNFa (P<0.05). The HF group also showed significantly higher protein expression of phospho-c-Jun and cleaved caspase-3 than the NC group (P<0.05) and the XG-102 group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe JNK inhibitor XG-102 may ameliorate lipid metabolism, reduce insulin resistance, decrease liver injury and inhibit hepatocytes apoptosis.