Transcriptome profiling of gene expression associated with HCC development induced by hepatocyte-specific knockout of the anti-apoptotic protein Mcl-1

Aged hepatocyte specific-Mcl-1 knockout (MKO-hep) mice tend to develop liver tumors mimicking human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study was aimed to identify global gene expression changes associated with the HCC development and/or progression of MKO-hep livers. Transcriptome profiling of 3-month-old control and MKO-hep livers revealed 518 differentially expressed transcripts (DETs) that are significantly up-regulated (399) or down-regulated (119) in MKO-hep livers compared to controls using two-fold changes as a cut-off.