Characterising pre-clinical diets to appropriately model human metabolic disease

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), is the leading cause of liver transplants in USA. Diet-induced obesity is a major risk factor contributing to the development of MASH. Scientists have fed rodents a high fat diet (HFD), to study aspects of obesity-related diseases (e.g. MASH) in humans. This has raised questions because HFD alone does not reflect the dietary pattern that drives MASH in humans. In this study, we compared the effect of HFD with a western-style diet and a modified western-style diet on MASH disease progression. Western-style diets induce greater pathology in the gut and the liver, mimicking human disease processes.