Serial Expression Analysis of Liver Regeneration-Related Genes in Rat Regenerating Liver

We investigated the gene expression changes in rat hepatic restoration with Rat Genome 230 2.0 chip containing 11,789 known genes and 13,231 unknown genes (taking up 90 percent of rat whole genome) following a 2/3 hepatectomy. The expression profiles and roles of these genes in rat liver regeneration (LR) were assayed using bioinformatics and systems biology method. Among the above genes, 1,004 known genes and 857 unknown genes were found to be associated with rat LR. The numbers of the known genes up-regulated, down-regulated, and up/down-regulated were 622, 443, and 15, respectively; that of the unknown genes were 367, 400, and 14, respectively. Out of the above two groups of genes, the ones up- and down-regulated 20 times or more were 62 and 38, 8, and 14, respectively. Notably, The highest expression level of dehydrogenase/reductase member 7 (DHRS7) was more than 968-fold compared to control, and alpha-1-B glycoprotein (A1BG), the product of gene with the lowest expression abundance, was 58 times lower than control. During rat liver regeneration, 467 up–regulated, 282 down–regulated, 10 up/down-regulated genes, and 1,031 undetected genes in our study interacted with each other and formed a network with a total of 4,014 connectivities. Among them, the genes for the regulation, synthesis, transport, signal transduction, protein modification, and physiological response formed 630, 290, 691, 373, 2010, and 20 connectivities, respectively; and the genes jun, fos, myc, ptgs2, ccna2, ccl2 had relatively higher degree of connectivity. The results indicated that cell apoptosis and inflammatory response were enhanced in the initial phase and the early part of progressive phase in LR.