Liver-specific hepatocyte nuclear factor-4alpha deficiency: greater impact on gene expression in male than in female mouse liver.

ABSTRACT: Hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF)-4alpha is a liver-enriched transcription factor that regulates numerous liver-expressed genes including several sex-specific cytochrome P450 genes. Presently, a liver-specific HNF4alpha-deficient mouse model was used to characterize the impact of liver HNF4alpha deficiency on a global scale using 41,174 feature microarrays. A total of 4994 HNF4alpha-dependent genes were identified, of which about 1000 fewer genes responded to the loss of HNF4alpha in female liver as compared with male liver. Sex differences in the impact of liver HNF4alpha deficiency were even more dramatic when genes showing sex-specific expression were examined. Thus, 372 of the 646 sex-specific genes characterized by a dependence on HNF4alpha responded to the loss of HNF4alpha in males on

SUBMITTER: Holloway MG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2366185 | biostudies-literature | 2008 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature