Data on differentially expressed microRNAs in the liver between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and normal Wistar rat using Solexa sequencing

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most prevalent chronic liver diseases worldwide. Recent studies have indicated that fish oil supplementation has benefits against NAFLD. Our previous transcriptomic study has validated the effect of fish oil supplementation on altering hepatic gene expression in a NAFLD rat model. In the current study, we examined the effects of fish oil on the expression of hepatic microRNAs. Male Sprague–Dawley rats were fed with a lab chow (CON), high-fat high-cholesterol diet (WD), or WD supplemented with fish oil (FOH), respectively. Small RNAs were extracted from livers for RNA-sequencing. A total of 79 miRNAs were identified as differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) between FOH and WD groups, exemplified by rno-miR-29c-3p, rno-miR-30d-5p, rno-miR-33-5p, rno-miR-34a, and rno-miR-328a-3p. Functional annotation of DEMs predicted target genes suggested that the altered hepatic miRNAs contributed to fish oil modification of hepatic lipid metabolism and signaling transduction. Integrative analysis of DEMs and differentially expressed genes suggested that the expression difference of Pcsk9, Insig2, Per3, and Socs1/3 between FOH and WD groups may be due to miRNA modification. Our study reveals that fish oil supplementation alters hepatic expression of miRNAs, which may contribute to fish oil amelioration of NAFLD in rats.

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Bioinformatics Analysis of Key Differentially Expressed Genes in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Mice Models

Gene Expression ◽

10.3727/105221618x15341831737687 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 25-35 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Chao Hou ◽

Wenwen Feng ◽

Shan Wei ◽

Yulin Wang ◽

Xiaoyi Xu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Liver Disease ◽

Fatty Liver ◽

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ◽

Differentially Expressed Genes ◽

Fatty Liver Disease ◽

Bioinformatics Analysis ◽

Interaction Networks ◽

Differentially Expressed ◽

Molecular Characteristics ◽

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a global health problem characterized by excessive accumulation of fat in the liver without effect of other pathological factors including hepatitis infection and alcohol abuse. Current studies indicate that gene factors play important roles in the development of NAFLD. However, the molecular characteristics of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and associated mechanisms with NAFLD have not been well elucidated. Using two microarray data associated with the gene expression profiling in liver tissues of NAFLD mice models, we identified and selected several common key DEGs that contributed to NAFLD. Based on bioinformatics analysis, we discovered that the DEGs were associated with a variety of biological processes, cellular components, and molecular functions and were also related to several significant pathways. Via pathway crosstalk analysis based on overlapping DEGs, we observed that the identified pathways could form large and complex crosstalk networks. Besides, large and complex protein interaction networks of DEGs were further constructed. In addition, many hub host factors with a high degree of connectivity were identified based on interaction networks. Furthermore, significant modules in interaction networks were found, and the DEGs in the identified modules were found to be enriched with distinct pathways. Taken together, these results suggest that the key DEGs, associated pathways, and modules contribute to the development of NAFLD and might be used as novel molecular targets for the treatment of NAFLD.

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