Expression profiling of acetaminophen liver toxicity in mice using microarray technology

Drug-induced hepatotoxicity causes significant morbidity and mortality and is a major concern in drug development. This is due, in large part, to insufficient knowledge of the mechanism(s) of drug-induced liver injury. In order to address this problem, we have evaluated the modulation of gene expression within the livers of mice treated with a hepatotoxic dose of acetaminophen (APAP) using high-density oligonucleotide microarrays capable of determining the expression profile of >11,000 genes and expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Significant alterations in gene expression, both positive and negative, were noted within the livers of APAP-treated mice. APAP-induced toxicity affected numerous aspects of liver physiology causing, for instance, >twofold increased expression of genes that encode for growth arrest and cell cycle regulatory proteins, stress-induced proteins, the transcription factor LRG-21, suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-2-protein, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). A number of these and other genes and ESTs were detectable within the liver only after APAP treatment suggesting their potential importance in propagating or preventing further toxicity. These data provide new directions for mechanistic studies that may lead to a better understanding of the molecular basis of drug-induced liver injury and, ultimately, to a more rational design of safer drugs.