Gene expression profiles reveal significant differences between rat liver cancer and liver regeneration

Rapid cell proliferation and growth occur in both liver cancer (LC) and liver regeneration (LR). Does it imply that LC and LR share some similar molecular mechanisms? To elucidate the intrinsic similarities and differences between the above two processes at transcriptional level, rat models of diethylnitrosamine-induced LC and 2/3 partial hepatectomy-induced LR were separately established. Then Rat Genome 230 2.0 Array was used to detect gene expression profiles of liver tissues obtained from the above two models, and bioinformatics methods, such as hierarchical clustering, k-means clustering and Expression Analysis Systematic Explorer (EASE), were applied to uncover the correlation between gene expression changes and physiological activities in LC and LR. Subsequently expression changes of six selected genes were confirmed by real-time quantitative RT-PCR. As a result, the expressions of 909 genes were found significantly changed during LC occurrence and 948 genes in LR. The expression profiles of the above two events were extremely different, and their expression patterns were classified into 6 clusters. Based on the correlation between expression patterns and functional profiles, we found that drug/toxin metabolism and oxidation reduction were induced in LC, but decreased in LR at the transcription level, while lipid, steroid and chemical homeostasis were remarkably repressed in LC but induced in LR; inflammation/immune response and apoptosis were not obvious or weaker in LC than in LR, whereas the activities of angiogenesis and cell adhesion/migration in LC were much stronger.

► Two rat models of DENA-induced LC and 2/3 hepatectomy-induced LR were established.
► Gene expression profiles of liver tissues from LC and LR were compared.
► We combined the expression changes with physiological activities in two models.
► This work enriched the intrinsic relationships and differences between LC and LR.
► The study identified some new gene markers and therapeutic targets for liver cancer.