The Lieber‐DeCarli Diet—A Flagship Model for Experimental Alcoholic Liver Disease

• Published in: Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research Vol. 42; no. 10; pp. 1828 - 1840
• Main Authors: Guo, Feifei, Zheng, Kang, Benedé‐Ubieto, Raquel, Cubero, Francisco Javier, Nevzorova, Yulia A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-10-2018
• Subjects: Alcohol use; Alcoholic Liver Disease; Alcoholism; Animal Models; Diet; Ethanol; Lieber‐DeCarli Diet; Lipopolysaccharide; Liver; Liver diseases; Pathogenesis; Reviews; Rodents; Lipopolysaccharide; Lieber-DeCarli Diet; Ethanol; Animal Models; Alcoholic Liver Disease
• ISSN: 0145-6008; 1530-0277
• DOI: 10.1111/acer.13840

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is the most common chronic liver disease in the Western world, and it persists at a high prevalence. Understanding the pathophysiology and successful treatment for ALD is closely associated with the suitability of the animal model, which fully reflects all aspects of the pathogenesis and typical histological findings. This study reviews one of the most widely used experimental models of ALD in rodents—the Lieber‐DeCarli (LDC) liquid diet. It is an easy, accurate, reliable, and inexpensive model to study the pathogenesis of early stages of ALD. Here, we discuss the historical background and provide an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of the classical LDC as well as modified “second‐hit” models. We also provide a comprehensive protocol for the application of the LDC diet to perform it successfully, reliably, and reproducibly in mice.
Lieber‐DeCarli liquid diet (LDC) is widely used in experimental models of Alcoholic Liver Disease (ALD) in mice. It is an easy, accurate, reliable, inexpensive method. In this review we thoroughly analyse the advantages, limitations, and translational relevance of the classical LDC as well as the modified “second‐hit” models. We provide full guidelines and affordable technical standards facilitating reproducible animal experimentation in line with the current European animal welfare regulations.