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Background/aim: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a wide spectrum of liver disorders ranging from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Recently, the prevalence of NAFLD has dramatically increased, and treatment is urgently needed. Animal models are often used to understand the molecular mechanisms of disease development and progression, but their relevance to human diseases has not been fully understood. This study aimed to establish the usefulness of the animal model for preclinical research, we evaluated its relevance to human disease by gene expression analysis., Materials and Methods: We performed weighted gene co-expression network analysis of liver tissues from a choline-deficient L-amino acid-defined (CDAA) diet-induced NAFLD animal model. In addition, module preservation analysis was conducted to evaluate similarity across species., Results: Several modules were identified to be associated with disease severity, and their gene co-expression network was found to be preserved in the human NAFLD datasets. Of note, module brown (immune cell clusters involved in inflammatory responses) was positively associated with disease severity, and its gene co-expression network was highly preserved in the human datasets. Tyrobp, Laptm5 and Lgals3 were identified as hub genes in the brown module, and their increased expression was confirmed in the human datasets., Conclusion: CDAA diet-induced NAFLD animal model recaptured key aspects of human pathophysiology (especially immune cell functions) and is thought to be a powerful tool for understanding the molecular mechanisms of NAFLD development and progression., (Copyright © 2023, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the gene expression of growth factors and growth factor receptors of primary hepatic masses, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and nodular hyperplasia (NH), in dogs. Quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was performed to measure the expression of 18 genes in 18 HCCs, 10 NHs, 11 surrounding non-cancerous liver tissues and 4 healthy control liver tissues. Platelet-derived growth factor-B (PDGF-B), transforming growth factor-α, epidermal growth factor receptor, epidermal growth factor and hepatocyte growth factor were found to be differentially expressed in HCC compared with NH and the surrounding non-cancerous and healthy control liver tissues. PDGF-B is suggested to have the potential to become a valuable ancillary target for the treatment of canine HCC.

The purpose of this study was to determine the utility of triple-phase helical computed tomography (CT) for differentiating canine hepatic masses. Seventy dogs with hepatic masses underwent triple-phase CT followed by surgical removal of the hepatic masses. Triple-phase helical CT scans for each dog included precontrast, arterial phase, portal venous phase, and delayed phase studies. The removed hepatic masses were histopathologically classified as hepatocellular carcinoma (n = 47), nodular hyperplasia (n = 14), and hepatic metastatic tumors (n = 9) in dogs. Of the 47 hepatocellular carcinomas, the most common CT findings included a heterogeneous pattern with hyper-, iso-, and hypoenhancement in both the arterial and portal venous phases (40/47, 85.1%). Of the 14 nodular hyperplasias, the most common CT findings were a homogeneous pattern with hyper- and isoenhancement in both the portal venous and delayed phases (13/14, 92.9%). Of nine hepatic metastatic tumors, the most common CT findings included a homogeneous hypoenhancement pattern in both the arterial and portal venous phases (8/9, 88.9%). In addition, 5 (55.6%) showed homogeneous hypoenhancement patterns in the delayed phase. Findings from our study indicated that triple-phase CT is a useful tool for preoperative differentiation of hepatocellular carcinoma, nodular hyperplasia, and hepatic metastatic tumors in dogs., (© 2013 American College of Veterinary Radiology.)

Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility of high-sensitivity near-infrared fluorescence imaging with indocyanine green for intraoperative identification of hepatocellular carcinoma in dogs., Methods: Twelve hepatic nodules were surgically resected from six dogs. In each dog, 0 · 5 mg/kg indocyanine green was intravenously injected for 12 to 18 hours preoperatively. The hepatic nodules were investigated under laparotomy using a near-infrared fluorescence imaging light camera system prior to resection. Resected nodules were histopathologically diagnosed and their fluorescence images were evaluated., Results: Of the 12 hepatic nodules, 6 were diagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma and 6 as nodular hyperplasia. Indocyanine green-fluorescence was observed in four large hepatocellular carcinoma nodules and one case of nodular hyperplasia, whereas it was absent in the remaining nodules. The sensitivity and positive predictive values of indocyanine green fluorescent imaging for hepatocellular carcinoma was 71 · 4 and 80 · 0%, respectively. Complete resection of the hepatic masses was achieved in all dogs., Clinical Significance: Near-infrared fluorescence imaging may be feasible for intraoperative mapping of hepatocellular carcinomas in hepatic lobes and may help increase the chance of complete resection of hepatocellular carcinoma in dogs., (© 2013 British Small Animal Veterinary Association.)

Six adult healthy Beagles were used to investigate the hepatic perfusion dynamics of Levovist, a contrast agent used in contrast harmonic imaging (CHI). In addition, 8 dogs with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and 2 dogs with metastatic hepatic hemangiosarcoma (HSA) were used to characterize both the CHI findings with Levovist. In the Beagles, the start of intravenously injected Levovist into the aorta between the cranial mesenteric and renal arteries and the portal vein at the hepatic hilum were 5.47 +/- 1.52 sec and 16.03 +/- 3.39 sec, respectively. As a characteristic CHI finding in the 8 dogs with HCC, the early arterial phase showed a fine network of blood flow enhanced at the surrounding region and within the tumor in all the 8 dogs (100%), and the post vascular phase demonstrated a defect in the whole tumor and an enhancement of the surrounding hepatic tissues in 7 dogs (87.5%). In the 2 dogs with HSA, characteristic finding in which the early arterial and late vascular phases showed a rim contrast enhancement pattern, and the post vascular phase revealed that the whole tumor lacked contrast enhancement and the surrounding hepatic tissues was clearly enhanced. In dogs, the start of the early arterial and late vascular phases, and the characterizations of the CHI findings in HCC and HSA were suggested to be similar to those in humans. Therefore, CHI is thought to be useful for the diagnosis of HCC and metastatic hepatic HSA in dogs as well as in humans.