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Aljabban J, Rohr M, Syed S, Khorfan K, Borkowski V, Aljabban H, Segal M, Mukhtar M, Mohammed M, Panahiazar M, Hadley D, Spengler R, Spengler E. Transcriptome changes in stages of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. World J Hepatol 2022; 14:1382-1397. [PMID: 36158924 PMCID: PMC9376779 DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v14.i7.1382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in the United States and globally. The currently understood model of pathogenesis consists of a ‘multiple hit’ hypothesis in which environmental and genetic factors contribute to hepatic inflammation and injury.
AIM To examine the genetic expression of NAFLD and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) tissue samples to identify common pathways that contribute to NAFLD and NASH pathogenesis.
METHODS We employed the Search Tag Analyze Resource for Gene Expression Omnibus platform to search the The National Center for Biotechnology Information Gene Expression Omnibus to elucidate NAFLD and NASH pathology. For NAFLD, we conducted meta-analysis of data from 58 NAFLD liver biopsies and 60 healthy liver biopsies; for NASH, we analyzed 187 NASH liver biopsies and 154 healthy liver biopsies.
RESULTS Our results from the NAFLD analysis reinforce the role of altered metabolism, inflammation, and cell survival in pathogenesis and support recently described contributors to disease activity, such as altered androgen and long non-coding RNA activity. The top upstream regulator was found to be sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 1 (SREBF1), a transcription factor involved in lipid homeostasis. Downstream of SREBF1, we observed upregulation in CXCL10, HMGCR, HMGCS1, fatty acid binding protein 5, paternally expressed imprinted gene 10, and downregulation of sex hormone-binding globulin and insulin-like growth factor 1. These molecular changes reflect low-grade inflammation secondary to accumulation of fatty acids in the liver. Our results from the NASH analysis emphasized the role of cholesterol in pathogenesis. Top canonical pathways, disease networks, and disease functions were related to cholesterol synthesis, lipid metabolism, adipogenesis, and metabolic disease. Top upstream regulators included pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor and IL1B, PDGF BB, and beta-estradiol. Inhibition of beta-estradiol was shown to be related to derangement of several cellular downstream processes including metabolism, extracellular matrix deposition, and tumor suppression. Lastly, we found riciribine (an AKT inhibitor) and ZSTK-474 (a PI3K inhibitor) as potential drugs that targeted the differential gene expression in our dataset.
CONCLUSION In this study we describe several molecular processes that may correlate with NAFLD disease and progression. We also identified ricirbine and ZSTK-474 as potential therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jihad Aljabban
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison, WI 53792, United States
| | - Michael Rohr
- Department of Medicine, University of Central Florida College of Medicine, Orlando, FL 32827, United States
| | - Saad Syed
- Department of Medicine, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
| | - Kamal Khorfan
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of California San Francisco-Fresno , Fresno, CA 93701, United States
| | - Vincent Borkowski
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison, WI 53792, United States
| | - Hisham Aljabban
- Department of Medicine, Barry University, Miami, FL 33161, United States
| | - Michael Segal
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison, WI 53792, United States
| | - Mohamed Mukhtar
- Department of Medicine, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, East Lansing, MI 49503, United States
| | - Mohammed Mohammed
- Department of Medicine, Windsor University School of Medicine, Saint Kitts 1621, Cayon, Saint Kitts and Nevis
| | - Maryam Panahiazar
- Department of Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94305, United States
| | - Dexter Hadley
- Department of Artificial Intelligence, Pathology, University of Central Florida College of Medicine , Orlando, FL 32827, United States
| | - Ryan Spengler
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison, WI 53792, United States
| | - Erin Spengler
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison, WI 53792, United States
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