Identification of key pathways and genes in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease using bioinformatics analysis

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) develops rapidly in high-fat diet (HFD) fed Mongolian gerbil ( Meriones unguiculatus). Here, we aim to explore the gene expression characteristics of Mongolian gerbil to better understand the underlying mechanism in this animal model. Mongolian gerbils were fed with normal diet or HFD for different periods. High-throughput sequencing was carried out on the hepatic mRNA and bioinformatics analysis was further performed. Eight hub genes Cd44, App, Cdc42, Cd68, Cxcr4, Csf1r, Adgre1, and Fermt3, which were involved in inflammation, fibrosis, and HCC were obtained. Four significant independent poor prognostic factors for HCC (GPC1, ARPC1B, DAB2, and CFL1) were screened out. qRT-PCR result showed that the above genes expressed high levels in different periods of modeling process. The findings of this study provide useful information for further studies on Mongolian gerbil NAFLD model.

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Author Correction: A comprehensive bioinformatics analysis on multiple Gene Expression Omnibus datasets of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-39022-7 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Shanzhou Huang ◽

Chengjun Sun ◽

Yuchen Hou ◽

Yunhua Tang ◽

Zebin Zhu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Liver Disease ◽

Fatty Liver ◽

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ◽

Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis ◽

Fatty Liver Disease ◽

Bioinformatics Analysis ◽

Gene Expression Omnibus ◽

Multiple Gene ◽

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver

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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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