Reduction of oxidative stress by CDDO-Me in the liver of NASH mice
Hepatic MDA levels were examined in the livers of NASH model mice fed CDAHFD and treated with CDDO-Me because oxidative stress participates in the progression to NASH (Friedman, Neuschwander-Tetri, Rinella, & Sanyal, 2018). The MDA level, which was significantly elevated in CDAHFD-fed mice, was nearly restored to that in the control upon CDDO-Me treatment at 3 mg・kg-1 of (Figure 3a). The expression of Nrf2-target genes Nqo1 and Gclc , which have antioxidative effects, was upregulated in the livers of CDAHFD-fed mice in a dose-dependent manner after treatment with CDDO-Me (Figure 3b,c), consistent with the protein expression levels (Figure 3d-f and Figure S4). These observations indicated that the antioxidative genes elicited by CDDO-Me at least partially inhibited the progression to NASH.