Truncated thrombospondin-1 polypeptide alleviates non-alcoholic fatty liver disease induced by palmitic acid and high-fat diets

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a metabolic stress-induced liver injury. Thrombospondin-1 (Thbs-1) is associated with NAFLD and has the potential to reduce lipid accumulation in hepatocytes. The aim of the study was to construct and screen truncated Thbs-1 polypeptide, and to investigate the function in palmitic acid (PA)-induced AML12 cells and High-fat diet (HFD)-induced C57BL/6 mice. The recombinant truncated Thbs-1 plasmids were constructed and the polypeptides were purified. The effects of the polypeptides were investigated in PA-induced AML12 cells and HFD-induced mice to screen the target polypeptide. The results showed that TSRC could alleviate the histopathological changes of NAFLD mice, reduce the expression of inflammatory factors and lipid metabolism-related factors. In conclusion, TSRC could ameliorate inflammation and lipid accumulation in PA-induced AML12 cells, relieve liver pathological changes, improve liver function, and effectively alleviate NAFLD in HFD-induced C57BL/6 mice.