studies

660A AASLD ABSTRACTS HEPATOLOGY, October, 2015
Disclosures:
Lisa M. Richards - Advisory Committees or Review Panels: Merck; Speaking and
Teaching: AbbVie, BMS, Gilead
Claude B. Sirlin - Grant/Research Support: GE, Pfizer, Bayer, Guerbet, Siemens
Rohit Loomba - Advisory Committees or Review Panels: Galmed Inc, Tobira Inc,
Arrowhead Research Inc; Consulting: Gilead Inc, Corgenix Inc, Janssen and
Janssen Inc, Zafgen Inc, Celgene Inc, Alnylam Inc, Inanta Inc, Deutrx Inc; Grant/
Research Support: Daiichi Sankyo Inc, AGA, Merck Inc, Promedior Inc, Kinemed
Inc, Immuron Inc, Adheron Inc
The following authors have nothing to disclose: Janki R. Patel, Ricki Bettencourt,
Jeffrey Y. Cui, Joanie Salotti, Jonathan Hooker, Archana Bhatt, Carolyn Hernandez,
Phirum Nguyen, Hamed Aryafar, William Haufe, Catherine A. Hooker
914
Mast Cell Involvement in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
in Humans
Anna Christina Dela Cruz 1 , Mehmet M. Altintas 1 , Nestor De La
Cruz-Munoz 2 , Gabriel S. Gaidosh 4 , Leopoldo Arosemena 1 , Mehrdad
Nadji 3 , Monica Garcia-Buitrago 3 , Ali Nayer 1 ; 1 Department of
Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami,
FL; 2 Department of Surgery, University of Miami Miller School
of Medicine, Miami, FL; 3 Department of Pathology, University of
Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL; 4 Bascom Palmer Eye
Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
Inflammation plays a critical role in the progression of non-alcoholic
fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Mast cells accumulate in
the liver of rodents with NAFLD and may contribute to the
progression of liver disease. It is not known whether mast cells
are involved in human NAFLD. We examined liver biopsies
from humans with NAFLD (n=42) and controls (n=7). Hepatic
steatosis, necroinflammatory activity, and fibrosis were graded
according to the Batts-Ludwig classification. Mast cells were
identified using c-Kit and tryptase immunostaining. Two pathologists
independently determined the density of c-Kit + mast cells
in the liver in a blinded fashion. To determine the effect of mast
cell deficiency on the development of NAFLD, 6-week-old male
Kit W /Kit W-v and congenic control mice were fed a high-fat diet
(60% energy from fat) for 18 weeks. Data was expressed in
mean±SEM. Student’s t-test and Pearson’s test were used to
analyze the data (GraphPad Prism, version 5.0a). P values of
less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. There
was significant inter-observer correlation with respect to mast
cell quantification (r=0.78, p