Transcriptome profiling of the hepatic acute-phase response in LPS-treated dHepaRG cells.

HepaRG cells are a human hepatic cell line that upon differentiation (dHepaRG) provide many features of primary hepatocytes, including high metabolic activity, detoxification, bile acid and urea synthesis. They are also able to undergo the acute-phase response upon inflammatory stimulation - the massive upregulation of serum proteins which support the systemic immune response. The aim of this study was to investigate the transcriptomic reprogramming of dHepaRG cells upon Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment. LPS potently activates immune responses in dHepaRG cells by inducing autocrine IL6-signalling and the expression of acute-phase genes. However, it is known that homeostatic liver functions are downregulated consecutively. The RNA-Seq data should deliver an overview about affected pathways and factors which are involved in this reprogramming process. Overall design: Comparative gene expression profiling of dHepaRG cells treated with LPS for 0 h, 6 h or 24 h.