RNA-seq analysis of macrophage NFATc3 or ASK1 effects on metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis
To explore the roles of macrophage NFATc3 and ASK1 in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, we generated macrophage-specific Nfatc3 knockout mice (Nfatc3-MKO),  macrophage-specific Ask1 knockout mice (Ask1-MKO),macrophage-specific double knockout (MDKO) mice, macrophage-specific Nfatc3 knockin mice (Nfatc3-MKI), and macrophage-specific Ask1 knockin mice (Ask1-MKI). Lyz2-Cre mice were used as control. Eight-week-old male Lyz2-Cre, Nfatc3-MKO, Ask1-MKO, and MDKO mice were treated with methionine- and choline-deficient (MCD) diet for 4 weeks. Subsequently, mouse liver tissues were isolated and subjected to RNA sequencing analysis. In addition, mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) were isolated from Lyz2-Cre, Nfatc3-MKI, and Ask1-MKI mice and were also subjected to RNA sequencing analysis. Overall design: RNA-seq was performed to compare the mRNA expression level in mouse livers of Lyz2-Cre, NFATc3-MKO, ASK1-MKO, and MDKO mice, and in BMDMs of Lyz2-Cre, Nfatc3-MKI, and Ask1-MKI mice.