Histological changes in the liver of diabetic rats: A review of pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in type 1 diabetes mellitus

• Main Authors: Hafiz Muhammad Bilal, Fatima Riaz, Kiran Munir, Anum Saqib, Muhammad Rehan Sarwar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2016-12-01
• Series: Cogent Medicine
• Subjects: diabetes mellitus; liver; histopathology; chronic liver disease; hepatic insufficiency
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2331205X.2016.1275415

Abundant knowledge is present over nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus but no attention has been given to the same aspect with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in humans. However, various animal modeled studies are documented having induced T1DM using chemical induction by alloxan (ALX) or streptozotocin (SZ) to investigate and comprehend the nature and pathophysiology of NAFLD in T1DM. The objectives of this review were to assess whether T1DM induced by ALX or SZ could cause histological (morphological and ultrastructural) changes in rat liver to illustrate the effects of these drugs and diabetes, and pathophysiology of NAFLD in T1DM. To achieve these objectives, we systematically searched the studies from EconLit, Embase, Google Scholar, Medline, PubMed, ProQuest, Scopus, Springer Link, and Science Direct databases. Initially, 150 studies were retrieved. Out of these, 107 studies were removed as these failed to provide relevant details. Finally, 43 articles were selected for this review. This review concluded that diabetes induced by ALX or SZ, cause biochemical alterations in blood and pathophysiological variations in the liver of rats. These changes can vary from steatosis to steatohepatitis and liver fibrosis, and are similar to the modifications observed in human liver.