Methylation changes of liver DNA during the formation of gallstones

Aim: To explore the overall methylation changes in liver tissues during the formation of gallstones, as well as the key pathways and genes involved in the process. Methods: Reduced-representation bisulfite sequencing and RNA sequencing were conducted on the liver tissues of mice with gallstones and control normal mice. Results: A total of 8705 differentially methylated regions in CpG and 1410 differentially expressed genes were identified. The joint analysis indicated that aberrant DNA methylation may be associated with dysregulated gene expression in key pathways such as cholesterol metabolism and bile secretion. Conclusion: We propose for the first time that methylation changes in some key pathway genes in liver tissue may be involved in the formation of gallstones.
The methylation status and downstream expression levels of many key pathways involved in gallstones formation were altered in the liver tissue of mice with gallstones.
Gallstones are one of the most common gastrointestinal diseases and cause huge medical costs every year around the world.
The specific causes of gallstone formation are currently not fully understood. It is not yet known whether DNA methylation is related to the formation of gallstones.
This study revealed the overall methylation changes in liver tissue of gallstone mice through reduced-representation bisulfite sequencing and RNA sequencing.
A total of 8705 differentially methylated regions in CpG and 1410 differentially expressed genes were identified in the analyzed samples.
The methylation status of genes in numerous pathways closely related to gallstone formation, including cholesterol metabolism and bile secretion, was significantly altered.
The joint analysis of methylome and transcriptome data indicated that aberrant DNA methylation may be associated with dysregulated gene expression in key pathways such as cholesterol metabolism and bile secretion.
In this study, we first proposed that methylation changes in some key pathways in liver tissue may be related to the formation of gallstones.
This research result provides a new perspective for understanding the formation mechanism of gallstones.