Niu S, Chen SC, Wang CX, Yue L, Wang SQ. Metabolic and hepatic effects of semaglutide and empagliflozin on metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease mice. World J Hepatol 2025; 17(10): 110402 [DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i10.110402]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Shu-Chun Chen, PhD, Professor, Department of Endocrinology, Hebei General Hospital, No. 348 Heping West Road, Shijiazhuang 050051, Hebei Province, China. chenshuc2014@163.com
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Endocrinology & Metabolism
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Basic Study
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Oct 27, 2025 (publication date) through Oct 27, 2025
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World Journal of Hepatology
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1948-5182
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Niu S, Chen SC, Wang CX, Yue L, Wang SQ. Metabolic and hepatic effects of semaglutide and empagliflozin on metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease mice. World J Hepatol 2025; 17(10): 110402 [DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i10.110402]
World J Hepatol. Oct 27, 2025; 17(10): 110402 Published online Oct 27, 2025. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i10.110402
Metabolic and hepatic effects of semaglutide and empagliflozin on metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease mice
Shu Niu, Shu-Chun Chen, Chen-Xi Wang, Lin Yue, Shu-Qi Wang
Shu Niu, Department of Endocrinology, Shijiazhuang People's Hospital, Shijiazhuang 050011, Hebei Province, China
Shu Niu, Shu-Chun Chen, Department of Endocrinology, Hebei General Hospital, Shijiazhuang 050051, Hebei Province, China
Chen-Xi Wang, Department of Endocrine, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050011, Hebei Province, China
Lin Yue, Department of Endocrine, The Third Hospital of Shijiazhuang, Shijiazhuang 050011, Hebei Province, China
Shu-Qi Wang, Department of Internal Medical, Hebei General Hospital, Shijiazhuang 050011, Hebei Province, China
Author contributions: Niu S and Chen SC conceived and designed the experiments, performed the experiments and wrote the paper; Niu S, Wang CX, Lin Y, and Wang SQ analyzed and interpreted the data; all authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.
Supported by The Scientific Research Programme on Traditional Chinese Medicine in Hebei Province, No. 2024127.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: All procedures involving animals were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Hebei General Hospital, No. 202332.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Data sharing statement: Technical appendix, statistical code, and dataset available from the corresponding author at chenshuc2014@163.com.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Shu-Chun Chen, PhD, Professor, Department of Endocrinology, Hebei General Hospital, No. 348 Heping West Road, Shijiazhuang 050051, Hebei Province, China. chenshuc2014@163.com
Received: June 5, 2025 Revised: July 23, 2025 Accepted: September 1, 2025 Published online: October 27, 2025 Processing time: 143 Days and 20.6 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
The molecular mechanisms associated with semaglutide and empagliflozin in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) still require further studies to develop precise therapeutic strategies.
AIM
To investigate the effects and the mechanism of action of semaglutide and empagliflozin on MASLD in obese mice.
METHODS
The experimental subjects consisted of 32 mice, which were arbitrarily allocated into four distinct groups: (1) The control group; (2) The high-fat group; (3) The Sema group; and (4) The Empa group. Mice were assessed for body weight changes, glycolipid metabolic status, inflammatory oxidative stress levels, pathology and metabolomics.
RESULTS
Semaglutide and empagliflozin have been demonstrated to exert a substantial impact on glycolipid reduction, the amelioration of glycolipid metabolism disorders, the attenuation of inflammation and oxidative stress levels, and the restoration of the pathological structure of liver injury to a certain extent in obese mice. No statistically significant differences in the outcomes associated with MASLD were identified between the two cohorts. The results of this study demonstrated that both semaglutide and empagliflozin had the capacity to influence the levels of several lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC).
CONCLUSION
It has been hypothesised that the amelioration of MASLD by semaglutide and empagliflozin may be associated with a decrease in the levels of several LPCs in liver tissue.
Core Tip: The present study demonstrated that semaglutide and empagliflozin reduced body weight, ameliorated disorders of glucose and lipid metabolism, lowered levels of inflammation and oxidative stress, and attenuated metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease in obese mice. The following section outlines possible mechanisms for reducing the levels of various lysophosphatidylcholines.
