• Katharina Burger, Finn Jung, Raphaela Staltner, Katja Csarmann, Kerstin Schweiger, Annette Brandt, Anja Baumann, Julia Scholda, Florian Kopp, and Ina Bergheim.
• Department of Nutritional Sciences, Molecular Nutritional Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
• Eur. J. Clin. Invest. 2025 Jan 1; 55 (1): e14320e14320.

Background4-methylpyrazole (4MP, fomepizole) is a competitive inhibitor of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) preventing the metabolism of ethylene glycol and methanol, respectively, into their toxic metabolites. 4MP seems also to possess a potential in the treatment of intoxication from other substance, for example, acetaminophen, and to modulate JNK-dependent signalling. Here, we determined if a treatment with 4MP once weekly affects the development of diet-induced non-obese metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) in C57BL/6 mice.MethodsMale C57BL/6 mice (6-8 weeks old, n = 7-8/group) were pair-fed either a liquid control diet (C) or a liquid sucrose-, fat- and cholesterol-rich diet (SFC) for 8 weeks while being concomitantly treated with 4MP (50 mg/kg bw i.p.) or vehicle once a week. Liver damage, inflammatory markers and glucose tolerance were assessed. Moreover, in endotoxin-challenged J774A.1 cells pretreated with 4MP, pro-inflammatory markers were assessed.ResultsThe concomitant treatment of SFC-fed mice with 4MP attenuated the increase in JNK phosphorylation and pro-inflammatory markers like IFNγ, IL-6 and 3-nitrotyrosine protein adducts in liver tissue found in vehicle-treated SFC-fed mice, while not affecting impairments of glucose tolerance or the increase in portal endotoxin levels. Moreover, a pretreatment of endotoxin-stimulated J774A.1 cells with 4MP significantly attenuated the increases in JNK phosphorylation and pro-inflammatory mediators like IL-6 and Mcp1.ConclusionsTaken together, our results suggest that a treatment with 4MP once weekly attenuates the activation of JNK and dampens the development of non-obese MASLD in mice.© 2024 The Author(s). European Journal of Clinical Investigation published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Stichting European Society for Clinical Investigation Journal Foundation.

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