Alcoholic liver disease: Utility of animal models

Table 1 Comparison of experimental models of alcoholic liver disease

Models	Animal model	Characteristics	Advantages and disadvantages
Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet[27,28]	Rat/mice	Chronic ethanol feeding (4-12 wk)	Easy to perform
			Marked elevation of ALT
			Short term feeding with no mortality rate
			No liver fibrosis
	Rat/mice	Chronic ethanol feeding + single/multiple binges (4-6 wk)	Easy to perform
			Marked elevation of ALT and marked steatosis
			Long term feeding + multiple binges with a high mortality rate
			No liver fibrosis
	Rat/mice	+ Second hit: DEN, LPS, CCl4, APAP (4-12 wk)	Easy to perform
			Marked elevation of ALT and marked steatosis
			Long term feeding + multiple binges + injection with a high mortality rate
			Liver fibrosis
Ethanol ad libitum feeding[27,28]	Mice	Oral alcohol in drinking water (10 d/1-2 wk)	Easy to perform
			Minimal elevation of ALT and mild steatosis
			Short-or long-term feeding with no mortality rate
			No liver fibrosis
The Tsukamoto-French model[27,28]	Rat/mice	Intragastric infusion (2-3 mo)	Difficult to perform
			Requirement for intensive medical care
			Marked elevation of ALT and steatosis
			Long-term feeding with a high mortality rate
			Mild liver fibrosis
The NIAA model[47]	Mice	LDE + single ethanol binge	Cost and time efficient
			High blood alcohol levels
			Liver injury
			Inflammation
			Fatty liver
	Rat /mice	LDE + 3 ethanol binges	Cost and time efficient
			Increased blood alcohol levels
			Augmented liver injury
			Increases in ERK1/2
Ethanol + CCl4 treatment[106]	Mice	4% ethanol liquid diet + 2 times IP CCl4 injection per week (8 wk)	Easy to perform
			Toxic components
			Elevated acetaldehyde levels
			Liver fibrosis

Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet with different variants, ethanol ad libitum feeding and the Tsukamoto-French and the NIAA model. ALT: Alcoholic liver disease; DEN: Diethylnitrosamine; LPS: Lipopolysaccharide; CCl₄: Carbon tetrachloride; APAP: Acetaminophen; LDE: Lieber-De Carli ethanol diet; IP: Intraperitoneal.