Journal of Physiology and Biochemistry · 13 authors, 4 centres
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This study pooled ten human liver transcriptomic datasets to analyze the expression of epigenetic and epitranscriptomic gene families across NAFLD stages. It found that many genes in these families were differentially expressed in non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) versus normal samples, with more pronounced differences in NASH.
This research integrated ten existing human liver transcriptomic datasets, comprising 379 samples from normal, obese, NAFL, and NASH subjects, to analyze the expression of epigenetic and epitranscriptomic gene families. The study identified differential expression of 108 epigenetic effectors and 40 epitranscriptomic genes, with more statistically significant differences observed in NASH compared to NAFL. Hierarchical clustering revealed three patient subtypes based on expression levels (EpiG-high/intermediate/low and EpiT-high/intermediate/low). The EpiG-high subtype, which encompassed the highest proportion of patients with advanced fibrosis (F4, cirrhosis), was associated with altered pathways in lipid metabolism, inflammation, and fibrogenesis. In a separate analysis of TCGA hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) data, patients within the EpiG-high subclass had significantly lower survival. The study is a pooled transcriptomic analysis of human data and does not establish causal relationships.
