Modified Citrus Pectin-Mediated Gal-3 Reduction Attenuates Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis in an Experimental Model

Abstract

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) is characterized by hepatic steatosis, inflammation, fibrosis, and metabolic dysfunction, with limited therapeutic options currently available. This study investigated whether pharmacological inhibition of Galectin-3 (Gal-3), a β-galactoside-binding lectin implicated in inflammation and fibrosis, using modified citrus pectin (MCP), attenuates established MASH in ApoE-deficient mice. Mice were assigned to four groups: standard chow (CTL), standard chow plus MCP (CTL + MCP), Western diet with fructose-enriched drinking water (WD), and WD plus MCP (WD + MCP). MCP (1% in drinking water) was administered during the final four weeks of the 11-week experimental protocol, after the establishment of metabolic dysfunction and hepatic steatosis. Compared with untreated WD mice, WD + MCP mice exhibited improved glucose tolerance, as evidenced by a 22.9% reduction in glucose area under the curve (p = 0.01), and enhanced hepatic insulin signaling, reflected by a 254.1% increase in insulin-stimulated AKT2 phosphorylation (p = 0.0002). MCP treatment also reduced hepatic lipid accumulation (39.8%, p = 0.0055) and hepatic triglyceride content (26.1%, p = 0.0003), accompanied by reductions in circulating triglyceride and cholesterol concentrations. Furthermore, WD + MCP mice exhibited reduced hepatic Gal-3 expression (25.8%, p = 0.0199), decreased F4/80 immunoreactivity (49.2%, p = 0.0061), attenuated JNK phosphorylation (46.6%, p = 0.0118), reduced collagen deposition (47.0%, p = 0.0002), and lower plasma ALT (52.9%, p = 0.0009) and AST (48.8%, p = 0.04) activities. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that MCP attenuates multiple metabolic, inflammatory, fibrotic, and hepatic injury features of established Western diet-induced MASH, supporting Gal-3 as a promising therapeutic target and MCP as a potential pharmacological strategy for MASH.