Abstract: Objective To study the role of chemokine-like receptor 1（CMKLR1） over-expression evoked by lentivirus in the adipose tissues of rats with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis（NASH）. Method 42 male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups. Rats in control group （n=6） fed with normal diet，and rats in other three fed with high fat diet. Vehicle，CMKLR1 virus （2×109pfu） or control virus （2×109pfu） was injected via tail vein at the first day of experiment. Rats were sacrificed at the end of 8 and 12 weeks. The pathological changes of liver tissues were observed. Kay Murray and adiponectin in serum were measured，and the levels of adiponectin in adipose tissues and the mRNA and its protein levels of CMKLR1 in adipose tissues were detected by RT-PCR or Western blot. Results The pathological inflammation in liver tissues of rats with CMKLR1 overexpression was significantly improved as compared with that in the controls or rats with control virus；The serum levels of chemerin at 8 and 12 weeks were（4.65±0.48） mmol/L and（4.47±0.37）mmol/L），respectively，similar to those in the controls[（4.38±0.43） mmol/L and （4.16±0.27）mmol/L]，and were significantly lower than those in rats with CMKLR1 overexpression [（7.66±0.53）mmol/L and （6.74±0.59）mmol/L，respectively，P＜0.05]；CMKLR1 mRNA and its protein in model group at 8 weeks were （0.235±0.008） and （0.206±0.005），respectively，similar to those in the controls[（0.226±0.008） and （0.21±0.117）]，and they were significantly lower than those in rats with CMKLR1 overexpression [（0.579±0.016） and （0.504±0.121），respectively，P＜0.05]；A similar changes in CMKLR1 mRNA and its protein were observed at 12 weeks；At 8 weeks，serum adiponectin，adiponectin mRNA and its protein in model group were [（31.82±1.51）mmol/L，（0.126±0.005） and（0.14±0.008）]，which were significantly lower than those in the controls at the same period [（37.92±4.09）mmol/L，（0.262±0.007） and（0.35±0.016），P<0.05]，and those in the transfection group[（36.50±2.43）mmol/L，（0.193±0.058） and（0.232±0.012），P<0.05]；A similar changes in serum adiponectin，adiponectin mRNA and its protein were observed at 12 weeks. Conclusion CMKLR1 over- expression evoked by lentivirus transfection could improve pathological inflammation in rats with NASH.

Key words: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, Chemokine-like receptor 1, Chemerin, Adiponectin, Rats