Effect of high cholesterol, olive oil diet on the lipids and connective tissue in rat liver. A biochemical study.

Rats were fed a high cholesterol, olive oil diet for one or seven weeks. The resulting hypertrophic fatty livers were analyzed for lipids, nucleic acids, and connective tissue components. The cholesterol and neutral glyceride contents of liver increased approximately 30-fold during the first week while phospholipids remained almost unchanged. After seven weeks the accumulation of cholesterol was further increased and the content of phospholipids enhanced. The total amounts of DNA and RNA rose with increasing weight of fatty liver. In seven weeks the diet caused a marked increase in hepatic collagen and glycosaminoglycans. The synthesis of collagen was increased in fatty liver slices after both one and seven weeks of the experiment. Fatty liver produced by this lipid diet is suggested as a suitable model for studying the mechanism by which lipids stimulate hepatic fibroblasts.