Errafii K, Al-Akl NS, Khalifa O, Arredouani A. Comprehensive analysis of LncRNAs expression profiles in an in vitro model of steatosis treated with Exendin-4.
J Transl Med 2021;
19:235. [PMID:
34078383 PMCID:
PMC8173795 DOI:
10.1186/s12967-021-02885-4]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background and aims
The hallmark of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the excessive hepatic lipid accumulation. Currently, no pharmacotherapy exists for NAFLD. However, the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists have recently emerged as potential therapeutics. Here, we sought to identify the long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) associated with the steatosis improvement induced by the GLP-1R agonist Exendin-4 (Ex-4) in vitro.
Methods
Steatosis was induced in HepG2 cells with oleic acid. The transcriptomic profiling was performed using total RNA extracted from untreated, steatotic, and Ex-4-treated steatotic cells. We validated a subset of differentially expressed LncRNAs with qRT-PCR and identified the most significantly enriched cellular functions associated with the relevant LncRNAs.
Results
We confirm that Ex-4 improves steatosis in HepG2 cells. We found 379 and 180 differentially expressed LncRNAs between untreated and steatotic cells and between steatotic and Ex-4-treated steatotic cells, respectively. Interestingly, 22 upregulated LncRNAs in steatotic cells became downregulated with Ex-4 exposure, while 50 downregulated LncRNAs in steatotic cells became upregulated in the presence of Ex-4. Although some LncRNAs, such as MALAT1, H19, and NEAT1, were previously associated with NAFLD, the association of others with steatosis and the positive effect of Ex-4 is being reported for the first time. Functional enrichment analysis identified many critical pathways, including fatty acid and pyruvate metabolism, and insulin, PPAR, Wnt, TGF-β, mTOR, VEGF, NOD-like, and Toll-like receptors signaling pathways.
Conclusion
Our results suggest that LncRNAs may play essential roles in the mechanisms underlying steatosis improvement in response to GLP-1R agonists and warrant further functional studies.
Supplementary Information
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12967-021-02885-4.
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