Transcriptomic profiling of Hnf4a liver knockout mice (AlbCre-Hnf4a fl/fl) vs control (Hnf4a fl/fl) mice.

Aberrant concentration, structure and functionality of High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) is associated with many prevalent diseases, including cardiovascular disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Mice with liver-specific ablation of Hnf4α (H4LivKO) present steatosis and dyslipidemia by mechanisms that are not completely understood. The aim of this study was to explore the role of liver Hnf4α in HDL metabolism and the development of steatosis. Liver samples were obtained from 6-weeks old liver knockout mice (AlbCre-Hnf4a fl/fl) and their littermate controls (Hnf4a fl/fl). Total RNA from all mice (4 AlbCre-Hnf4a fl/fl and 4 Hnf4a fl/fl ) was labeled and hybridized to GeneChip™ Mouse Gene 2.0 ST Affymetrix expression arrays. The total of 8 arrays was analyzed by the Affymetrix Transcriptome Analysis Console (TAC) Software Version 4.0.2. Differentially expressed genes were evaluated by specific statistical criteria (p-value <0.05 and absolute fold change ≥1.5).