Publication
Title
Hepatic molecular signatures highlight the sexual dimorphism of Non‐Alcoholic SteatoHepatitis (NASH)
Author
Abstract
Background and Aims Non‐Alcoholic SteatoHepatitis (NASH) is considered as a pivotal stage in Non‐Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) progression, as it paves the way for severe liver injuries such as fibrosis and cirrhosis. The etiology of human NASH is multi‐factorial and identifying reliable molecular players and/or biomarkers has proven difficult. Together with the inappropriate consideration of risk factors revealed by epidemiological studies (altered glucose homeostasis, obesity, ethnicity, sex…), the limited availability of representative NASH cohorts with associated liver biopsies, the gold standard for NASH diagnosis, probably explains the poor overlap between published “omics”‐defined NASH signatures. Approach & Results Here we have explored transcriptomic profiles of livers starting from a 910 obese patient cohort which was further stratified based on stringent histological characterization, to define ”NoNASH” and ”NASH” patients. Sex was identified as the main factor for data heterogeneity in this cohort. Using powerful bootstrapping and random forest (RF) approaches, we identified reliably differentially expressed genes participating to distinct biological processes in NASH as a function of sex. RF‐calculated gene signatures identified NASH patients in independent cohorts with high accuracy. Conclusions This large‐scale analysis of transcriptomic profiles from human livers emphasized the sexually dimorphic nature of NASH and its link with fibrosis, calling for the integration of sex as a major determinant of liver responses to NASH progression and responses to drugs.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Hepatology / American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. - Baltimore, Md
Publication
Baltimore, Md : 2021
ISSN
0270-9139
DOI
10.1002/HEP.31312
Volume/pages
73 :3 (2021) , p. 920-936
Article Reference
hep.31312
ISI
000599733500001
Pubmed ID
32394476
Medium
E-only publicatie
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
RESOLVE: A systems biology approach to RESOLVE the molecular pathology of two hallmarks of patients with metabolic syndrome and its co-morbidities; hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL-cholesterol
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 23.11.2020
Last edited 02.10.2024
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