Harnessing natural variation to identify cis regulators of sex-biased gene expression in a multi-strain mouse liver model.

ABSTRACT: Sex differences in gene expression are widespread in the liver, where many autosomal factors act in tandem with growth hormone signaling to regulate individual variability of sex differences in liver metabolism and disease. Here, we compare hepatic transcriptomic and epigenetic profiles of mouse strains C57BL/6J and CAST/EiJ, representing two subspecies separated by 0.5-1 million years of evolution, to elucidate the actions of genetic factors regulating liver sex differences. We identify 144 protein coding genes and 78 lncRNAs showing strain-conserved sex bias; many have gene ontologies relevant to liver function, are more highly liver-specific and show greater sex bias, and are more proximally regulated than genes whose sex bias is strain-dependent. The strain-conserved genes include key

SUBMITTER: Matthews BJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8664386 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature