Profiling of growth and differentiation factor 15 regulated genes in hepatoma cells

To systematically profile the GDF15-regulated genes in hepatoma cells and to elucidate the possible role of GDF15 on biological processes, high-density oligonucleotide microarrays were hybridized with samples prepared from GDF15- or PBS-treated Huh7.5.1 cells. We found that a total of 894 genes were differentially expressed in response to GDF15 treatment based on the 2-fold cut-off range, and a majority (828 genes, about 92.6%) of the genes is up-regulated. According to the descriptions outlined by the Gene Ontology Biological Process, the differentially expressed genes were found to belong to a variety of functional categories. Two samples were included in the experiment. They are Huh7.5.1 cells treated with PBS, and Huh7.5.1 cells treated with recombinant human growth and differentiation factor 15. Twenty four hours post treatment, the total RNA was isolated from the cells. The microarray hybridization and analysis were performed by CapitalBio Corporation using the 22K Human Genome Array. Two-channel hybridizations microarray assay was performed.