Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common liver disease that manifests as a wide range of pathological conditions ranging from fat accumulation to inflammation, fibrosis and finally cirrhosis. Recently, it suggested that hypothyroidism is closely associated with NAFLD. In addition, 11.7% of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients were shown to have hypothyroidism. In this study, Wistar rats were fed different high-fat diets (with or without propylthiouracil) and allowed to develop NAFLD. At the end of the experiments, the serum and liver were collected for the analysis of lipid and cholesterol metabolism parameters. Our results showed that the hypothyroid rats had a fleshless body, significantly higher concentrations of total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) in the serum and an increased serum alanine transaminase (ALT) level. In addition, the concentration of serum triglycerides and the expression of ApoB100, MTP, SREBP-2 and ABCA1 in the hypothyroid rats showed fluctuating patterns similar to that of liver triglycerides. This finding suggested that propylthiouracil-induced hypothyroidism plays an important role in progressive NAFLD.

Key words: High-fat and high-cholesterol diet, Hypothyroidism, Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, Propylthiouracil