Effect of chronic intermittent hypoxia on gene expression profiles of rat liver: a better understanding of OSA-related liver disease

Purpose Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and OSA-associated chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) have been suggested to be associated with increased risk of liver disease. Little is known about the biological pathophysiology and underlying molecular mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome expression profiling to explore the transcriptomic changes induced by CIH in rat liver. Methods Rats ( n = 3) were exposed to CIH for 8 weeks and were compared with rats exposed to normoxia (n = 3). Illumina HiSeq 4000 platform was used to examine differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the liver between control group and CIH rat model. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to validate DEGs. Biological functions of DEGs were determined by Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. Results Compared with control group, 318 genes were identified to be dysregulated in the liver of CIH rat model, with 211genes upregulated and 107 genes downregulated. Bioinformatics analysis showed that these genes were extensively related to various physiologic processes such as hepatic metabolism, apoptotic process, and oxidative stress. 10 genes with 5 upregulated and 5 downregulated were selected and further verified by qRT-PCR. Conclusions CIH resulted in altered gene expression patterns in the liver of rat. The DEGs were related to various physiological and pathological processes in CIH rat liver. These data provide a better understanding of the mechanisms and underlying molecular changes of OSA-related liver disease.