Specific changes of liver transcriptome in the early stages of copper accumulation in the mouse model of wilson disease

Wilson disease (WD) is a severe metabolic disorder caused by genetic inactivation of copper-transporting ATPase ATP7B. In WD, copper accumulates in several tissues, particularly in the liver, inducing marked time-dependent pathological changes. To identify initial events in the copper-dependent development of liver pathology we utilized the Atp7b-/- mice, an animal model for WD. Analysis of mRNA from livers of control and Atp7b-/- 6 weeks-old mice using oligonucleotide arrays revealed specific changes of the transcriptome at this stage of copper accumulation. Few messages (29 up-regulated and 46 down-regulated) change their abundance more than 2-fold pointing to the specific effect of copper on gene expression/mRNA stability. The gene ontology analysis revealed copper effects on distinct metabolic pathways.

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Huster D, Purnat TD, Burkhead JL, Ralle M, Fiehn O, Stuckert F, Olson NE, Teupser D, Lutsenko S