(First published online: 29 April 2015)
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0007114515001130, Published by Cambridge University Press, April 2015
Materials and methods
Hepatic histology and hepatic lipid metabolites analysis
In this paragraph, the last sentence (page 2, line 15) should be: ‘Hepatic carnitine, carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT1) and betaine–homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT) concentration were determined by using ELISA kits (A&D Company Limited, China) according to manufacturer’s instructions.’
The catalogue numbers of the ELISA kits:
Rat CPT1 ELISA kit, code-CSB-E16442r;
Rat BHMT ELISA kit, code-CSB-EL002693RA.
Results
Betaine elevated the concentration and the mRNA expression of betaine–homocysteine methyltransferase in the liver
In this paragraph, the first sentence (page 4, line 1) should be: ‘Compared with groups without betaine administration (T1 and T3), betaine supplementation groups (T2 and T4) exhibited a significant increase (P<0·05) in the concentration of BHMT in the liver (Fig. 3(a)). High-fat diet also elevated (P<0·05) the concentration of BHMT when compared with rats fed with basal diet.’
Fig. 3. (a) Effect of betaine on the concentration of betaine–homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT) in the liver. (b) Effect of betaine on the mRNA abundance of BHMT in the liver. Values are means (n 7), with standard deviations represented by vertical bars. a,b,cMean values with unlike letters were significantly different (P<0·05). Groups: T1, basal diet; T2, basal diet with betaine administration; T3, high-fat diet; T4, high-fat diet with betaine administration.
Betaine increased PPARa gene expression and reversed the inhibition of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 gene expression induced by high-fat diet in the liver
In this paragraph, the second sentence (page 4, line 3) should be: ‘Betaine administration in rats fed with a high-fat diet exhibited a higher concentration of CPT1 (P<0·05) compared with that of high-fat diet-fed rats (Fig. 4(a)).’
Fig. 4. (a) Effect of betaine on the concentration of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT1) in the liver. (b) Effect of betaine on the gene expression of PPARa in the liver. (c) Effect of betaine on the gene expression of CPT1 in the liver. Values are means (n 7), with standard deviations represented by vertical bars. a,b,c,dMean values with unlike letters were significantly different (P<0·05). Groups: T1, basal diet; T2, basal diet with betaine administration; T3, high-fat diet; T4, high-fat diet with betaine administration.
Betaine increased the concentration, gene and protein expression of fibroblast growth factor 21, and elevated the gene expression of AMP-activated protein kinase in the liver
In this paragraph, the first sentence (page 5, line 1) should be: ‘The changes of betaine administration on the concentration, gene and protein expression of FGF21 in the liver are shown in Fig. 5(a)–(c).’
Discussion
In this part, the second paragraph the third sentence (page 6, line 18) should be: ‘Significant increase in BHMT concentration was observed in betaine administration rats given either basal diet or high-fat diet, which was accompanied with the notable increase of BHMT mRNA abundance in the high-fat group.’
In this part, the second paragraph the sentence (page 6, line 6) should be: ‘Our results showed that betaine administration elevated the levels of hepatic lecithin and serum lecithin and VLDL in high-fat diet-fed rats, which suggested that betaine reversed hepatic lipid accumulation by elevated lecithin and VLDL levels via increasing the expression and concentration of BHMT, thus enhancing hepatic lipid export. Besides, high-fat diet also increased the concentration of BHMT in the liver.’
In this part, the third paragraph the third sentence (page 6, line 6) should be: ‘The results showed that betaine administration had no apparent effect on the concentration of CPT1 in rats fed with basal diet.’
The titles of the y axes in the Fig. 3(a) and Fig. 4(a) were incorrect. They should read: The concentration of hepatic BHMT (ng/g); The concentration of hepatic CPT1 (ng/g)
The authors sincerely apologise for this errors.
