Modelling nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in vivo—a close transcriptomic similarity supports the guinea pig disease model

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelForskningfagfællebedømt

The successful development of effective treatments against nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is significantly set back by the limited availability of predictive preclinical models, thereby delaying and reducing patient recovery. Uniquely, the guinea pig NASH model develops hepatic histopathology and fibrosis resembling that of human patients, supported by similarities in selected cellular pathways. The high‐throughput sequencing of guinea pig livers with fibrotic NASH (n = 6) and matched controls (n = 6) showed a clear separation of the transcriptomic profile between NASH and control animals. A comparison to NASH patients with mild disease (GSE126848) revealed a 45.2% overlap in differentially expressed genes, while pathway analysis showed a 34% match between the top 50 enriched pathways in patients with advanced NASH (GSE49541) and guinea pigs. Gene set enrichment analysis highlighted the similarity to human patients (GSE49541), also when compared to three murine models (GSE52748, GSE38141, GSE67680), and leading edge genes THRSP, CCL20 and CD44 were highly expressed in both guinea pigs and NASH patients. Nine candidate genes were identified as highly correlated with hepatic fibrosis (correlation coefficient > 0.8), and showed a similar expression pattern in NASH patients. Of these, two candidate genes (VWF and SERPINB9) encode secreted factors, warranting further investigations as potential biomarkers of human NASH progression. This study demonstrates key similarities in guinea pig and human NASH, supporting increased predictability when translating research findings to human patients.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
Artikelnummer1198
TidsskriftBiomedicines
Vol/bind9
Udgave nummer9
ISSN2227-9059
DOI
StatusUdgivet - sep. 2021

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
Conflicts of Interest: J.S‐R, D.H.I, and J.L were supported in part by the LifePharm Centre of In Vivo Pharmacology, which has also received funding from Novo Nordisk A/S. The funder had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results. M.L and D.H.I are currently employed by Novo Nordisk A/S.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

ID: 390395821