title: RNA-Seq profiling reveals novel hepatic gene expression pattern in aflatoxin B1 treated rats.
abstract: Deep sequencing was used to investigate the subchronic effects of 1 ppm aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), a potent hepatocarcinogen, on the male rat liver transcriptome prior to onset of histopathological lesions or tumors. We hypothesized RNA-Seq would reveal more differentially expressed genes (DEG) than microarray analysis, including low copy and novel transcripts related to AFB1's carcinogenic activity compared to feed controls (CTRL). Paired-end reads were mapped to the rat genome (Rn4) with TopHat and further analyzed by DESeq and Cufflinks-Cuffdiff pipelines to identify differentially expressed transcripts, new exons and unannotated transcripts. PCA and cluster analysis of DEGs showed clear separation between AFB1 and CTRL treatments and concordance among group replicates. qPCR of eight high and medium DEGs and three low DEGs showed good comparability among RNA-Seq and microarray transcripts. DESeq analysis identified 1,026 differentially expressed transcripts at greater than two-fold change (p<0.005) compared to 626 transcripts by microarray due to base pair resolution of transcripts by RNA-Seq, probe placement within transcripts or an absence of probes to detect novel transcripts, splice variants and exons. Pathway analysis among DEGs revealed signaling of Ahr, Nrf2, GSH, xenobiotic, cell cycle, extracellular matrix, and cell differentiation networks consistent with pathways leading to AFB1 carcinogenesis, including almost 200 upregulated transcripts controlled by E2f1-related pathways related to kinetochore structure, mitotic spindle assembly and tissue remodeling. We report 49 novel, differentially-expressed transcripts including confirmation by PCR-cloning of two unique, unannotated, hepatic AFB1-responsive transcripts (HAfT's) on chromosomes 1.q55 and 15.q11, overexpressed by 10 to 25-fold. Several potentially novel exons were found and exon refinements were made including AFB1 exon-specific induction of homologous family members, Ugt1a6 and Ugt1a7c. We find the rat transcriptome contains many previously unidentified, AFB1-responsive exons and transcripts supporting RNA-Seq's capabilities to provide new insights into AFB1-mediated gene expression leading to hepatocellular carcinoma.
authors: Division of the National Toxicology Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States of America. merrick@niehs.nih.gov
authors: B Alex
authors: BA
authors: Merrick
authors: Dhiral P
authors: DP
authors: Phadke
authors: Scott S
authors: SS
authors: Auerbach
authors: Deepak
authors: D
authors: Mav
authors: Suzy M
authors: SM
authors: Stiegelmeyer
authors: Ruchir R
authors: RR
authors: Shah
authors: Raymond R
authors: RR
authors: Tice
mesh_terms: D016604:Aflatoxin B1 / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D002273:Carcinogens / Q000633:toxicity*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D050687:E2F1 Transcription Factor / Q000502:physiology; D005091:Exons; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D014453:Glucuronosyltransferase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008114:Liver Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D059467:Transcriptome; D000099148:UGT1A1 Enzyme
chemical_list: D016604:Aflatoxin B1; D002273:Carcinogens; D050687:E2F1 Transcription Factor; D014453:Glucuronosyltransferase; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C493755:E2f1 protein, rat; C499946:Ugt1a1 protein, rat; D000099148:UGT1A1 Enzyme
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