High-Throughput Analysis of Tumor Necrosis Factor Signaling Pathways in Eight Cell Types during Rat Hepatic Regeneration

This study aims to clarify the relevance of tumor necrosis factor (TNFs) signaling pathways and liver regeneration (LR) at the cellular level. Eight liver cell types were isolated using Percoll density gradient centrifugation and immunomagnetic beads methods. Expressions of TNF signaling pathway-involved genes in each cell type after 2/3 hepatectomy (PH) were detected using gene chip. Results show the following: gene TNFα was upregulated in most cell types, especially in Kupffer cells (KC); TNFβ expression was insignificantly changed in eight liver cell types; the majority of genes involved in four TNFα signaling pathways showed increased expression during LR in hepatocytes (HC); TNFα-induced NFκB pathway-involved genes were upregulated preferentially between 2 and 24 h during LR in biliary epithelial cells (BECs); and TNFα-induced apoptotic pathway genes were downregulated preferentially at progressing phase of LR in dendritic cells (DCs). Referring to the above results, TNFα-mediated signaling pathways, in contrast to TNFβ, play the more proactive role in LR, and four TNFα-mediated signaling pathways seem helpful to regulate biological events in HC; BEC proliferation was partly controlled by TNFα-mediated NFκB pathway; and the impaired TNFα-mediated apoptotic pathway in DCs might contribute to the restoration of DC mass after PH. Briefly, the comparative analysis of genomewide expression profiles of TNF signaling pathways between different cell types is helpful in understanding the implication of TNF signaling in LR at the cellular level.