Transcriptional profiling of hepatocyte, reprogrammed hepatocyte, and biliary cells

Following liver injury, a subset of hepatocytes adopt features of biliary epithelial cells (BECs) in a process known as biliary reprogramming. The aim of this study is to elucidate the molecular events accompanying this dramatic shift in cellular identity. Wild type hepatocytes, wild type biliary cells, DDC-treated hepatocytes, DDC-treated biliary cells, and DDC-treated reprogrammed cells were isolated by FACS, RNA isolated, and sequenced. Overall design: Transcriptional profiling of liver cell populations by RNA-seq in control and DDC-treated mice

肝脏损伤发生后，部分肝细胞会获得胆管上皮细胞（biliary epithelial cells, BECs）的特征，该过程被称为胆管重编程（biliary reprogramming）。本研究旨在阐明伴随这一细胞身份剧烈转变的分子事件。研究人员通过荧光激活细胞分选（Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting, FACS）分离得到野生型肝细胞、野生型胆管细胞、DDC处理的肝细胞、DDC处理的胆管细胞以及DDC处理的重编程细胞，随后提取总RNA并进行测序。实验整体设计：采用RNA测序（RNA-seq）对对照组与DDC处理小鼠的肝脏细胞群体开展转录谱分析。