Gene expression profiling in rat liver after VMH lesioning.

ABSTRACT

It has been reported that ventromedial hypothalamic (VMH) lesions induce hepatic cell proliferation and apoptosis and metabolic changes in the body. In the present study, we identified genes of which expression profiles showed significant modulation in rat liver after VMH lesions. Total RNA was extracted, and differences in the gene expression profiles between rats at day 3 after VMH lesioning and sham-VMH lesioned rats were investigated using DNA microarray analysis. The results revealed that VMH lesions regulated the genes that were involved in various types of metabolisms and cell proliferations in the liver. Real-time PCR also confirmed that gene expressions of ELOVL6 and SPC24 were upregulated, and that of SERPINA7 was downregulated. VMH lesions may change the expressions of multiple metabolism genes and cell proliferation-related genes in rat liver.