Characterization of Gene Expression Profiles in HBV-related Liver Fibrosis Patients and Identification of ITGBL1 As a Key Regulator of Fibrogenesis

Overview

Journal Sci Rep

Specialty Science

Date 2017 Mar 7

PMID 28262670

Citations 58

Authors

Mingjie Wang

Qiming Gong

Jiming Zhang

Liang Chen

Zhanqing Zhang

Lungen Lu

Demin Yu

Yue Han

Donghua Zhang

Peizhan Chen

Xiaonan Zhang

Zhenghong Yuan

Jinyan Huang

Xinxin Zhang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Although hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is the leading cause of liver fibrosis (LF), the mechanisms underlying liver fibrotic progression remain unclear. Here, we investigated the gene expression profiles of HBV-related LF patients. Whole genome expression arrays were used to detect gene expression in liver biopsy samples from chronically HBV infected patients. Through integrative data analysis, we identified several pathways and key genes involved in the initiation and exacerbation of liver fibrosis. Weight gene co-expression analysis revealed that integrin subunit β-like 1 (ITGBL1) was a key regulator of fibrogenesis. Functional experiments demonstrated that ITGBL1 was an upstream regulator of LF via interactions with transforming growth factor β1. In summary, we investigated the gene expression profiles of HBV-related LF patients and identified a key regulator ITGBL1. Our findings provide a foundation for future studies of gene functions and promote the development of novel antifibrotic therapies.

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