Liver fully recovers from a low protein diet
During this study researchers from the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Surrey in collaboration with the University of Sao Paulo examined the impact of a low protein diet on the liver. Monitoring groups of mice, one group receiving normal levels of protein in the diet and the other group nourished with low levels of protein for five weeks, researchers were able to uncover the damaging effect a reduction of protein can cause to the structure of this vital organ. Using a novel method -- design-based stereology -- which enabled researchers to estimate the volume of the liver and the total numbers and sizes of its cells in 3D, it was found that the liver of mice on a low protein diet had decreased by 65%. It also found a 46% reduction in the volume of hepatocytes (liver cells) and a 90% increase in the total number of binucleate hepatocytes (liver cells with two nuclei), causing a decrease of the functionality of the organ. The research also discovered that a low prot...