Genome-scale transcriptional analysis reveals key genes associated with the development of type II diabetes in mice.

Diabetes mellitus is one of the primary diseases that pose a threat to human health. The focus of the present study is type II diabetes (T2D), which is caused by obesity and is the most prevalent type of diabetes. However, genome-scale transcriptional analysis of diabetic liver in the development process of T2D is yet to be further elucidated. Microassays were performed on liver tissue samples from three-, six- and nine-week-old db/db mice with diabetes and db/m mice to investigate differentially expressed mRNA. Based on the results of genome-scale transcriptional analysis, five genes were screened in the present study: chromobox 8 (CBX8), de-etiolated homolog 1 and damage specific DNA binding protein 1 associated 1 (DDA1), Phosphoinositide-3-kinase regulatory subunit 6 (PIK3R6), WD repeat domain 41 (WDR41) and Glycine Amidinotransferase (GATM). At three weeks of age, no significant differences in levels or ratios of expression were observed. However, at six and nine weeks, expression of CBX8, DDA1, PIK3R6 and WDR41 was significantly upregulated (P<0.05) in the db/db model group compared with the control group, whereas GATM expression was significantly downregulated (P<0.05). These results suggest that T2D-related differential expression of genes becomes more marked with age, which was confirmed via reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Genome-scale transcriptional analysis in diabetic mice provided a novel insight into the molecular. events associated with the role of mRNAs in T2D development, with specific emphasis upon CBX8, DDA1, PIK3R6, GATM and WDR41. The results of the present study may provide rationale for the investigation of the target genes of these mRNAs in future studies.