Background/aims: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) lacks effective medical treatment. Since tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) plays an important role in NASH pathogenesis, we aimed to investigate drugs affecting TNF-α as possible treatment options during the development of NASH.
Materials and methods: A total of 35 rats were divided into five groups and evaluated over a 6 week period. One group received a normal diet alone or in combination with the administration of infliximab, adalimumab or pentoxifylline.
Results: NASH was successfully established in the MCD diet group. Levels of TNF-α were effectively suppressed in the three groups that received anti-TNF agents. No statistically significant differences were observed between the three agents in terms of the histological NASH score.
Conclusion: Our study showed that the anti-TNF agents infliximab, adalimumab, and pentoxifylline effectively suppress TNF-α. Although these drugs did not prevent the development of NASH, they were able to slightly reverse the NASH histopathology score and positively affect liver function tests.