Sex specific role of KDM5 demethylases in Alcohol-associated Liver Disease

Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is a major cause of alcohol related mortality. The specific mechanisms responsible for ALD development and progression are not fully understood, and there is limited therapy for any stage of ALD. Sex differences are often disregarded in in genetic and mechanistic studies. We aimed to take an unbiased approach to define sex specific pathways in livers exposed to alcohol. METHODS: Mice were fed LieberDeCarli alcohol liquid diet for 3 weeks. To identify the role of Kdm5b and Kdm5c we injected mice with AAV-shControl at 2x10^11 gc per mouse or AAV-shKdm5b and AAV-Kdm5c vectors at 10^11 gc per mouse. To assess the role of AhR we injected mice with AAV-shControl or AAV-shAhR vectors at 10^11 gc per mouse. RESULTS: We found several pathways affected by alcohol in sex specific way and identified KDM5 demethylases as contributors to that specificity. Overall design: Whole liver mRNA analysis in alcohol fed mice treated with different AAV vectors