Hepatic Transcriptomics Reveals Reduced Lipogenesis in High-Salt Diet Mice

Abstract

It has been demonstrated that a high salt diet (HSD) increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and metabolic dysfunction. In particular, the impact and molecular mechanisms of long-term HSD on hepatic metabolism remain largely unknown. To identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) affecting the metabolism of liver tissues from HSD and control groups, a transcriptome analysis of liver tissues was performed in this study. As a result of the transcriptome analysis, the expression of genes related to lipid and steroid biosynthesis (such as Fasn, Scd1, and Cyp7a1) was significantly reduced in the livers of HSD mice. Additionally, several gene ontology (GO) terms have been identified as associated with metabolic processes in the liver, including the lipid metabolic process (GO: 0006629) and the steroid metabolic process (GO: 0008202). An additional quantitative RT-qPCR analysis was conducted to confirm six down-regulated genes and two up-regulated genes. Our findings provide a theoretical basis for further investigation of HSD-induced metabolic disorders.