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Zhang X, Fu C, Yang Z, Tan Y, Li H, Zhang X, Chen M, Peng F, Li N. Bioinformatics-Guided Experimental Validation Identifies NQO1 as a Senescence-Ferroptosis Hub in Liver Fibrosis. Biomedicines 2025; 13:1249. [PMID: 40427075 PMCID: PMC12108982 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines13051249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2025] [Revised: 04/27/2025] [Accepted: 05/13/2025] [Indexed: 05/29/2025] Open
Abstract
Background: As a pivotal point for the development of liver diseases, liver fibrosis (LF) is closely associated with cellular senescence and ferroptosis. However, there is a lack of effective markers that accurately predict LF status. This study aims to identify key genes involved in LF through bioinformatics analysis and experimental validation. Methods: We used bioinformatics analysis of Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) data to investigate the gene functions, prognostic value, and immune associations of characteristic genes in LF. Functional enrichment analysis of DEGs was performed using GO and KEGG. Immune cell types and their proportions were estimated with CIBERSORTx. In addition, we analyzed the role of NQO1 in LF using IHC, WB, PCR, and flow cytometry. Results: Bioinformatics analysis identified 10 hub genes, including AR, CDKN1A, GJA1, CTSB, HIF1A, HMGB1, NQO1, PARP1, PTEN, and TXN. Among them, NQO1 was strongly correlated with immune cell activity. Experimental validation confirmed that NQO1 is upregulated and promotes αSMA and COL1A1 expression in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Knockdown of NQO1 significantly affected the proliferation of HSCs. Conclusions: NQO1 plays a critical role in HSC senescence and ferroptosis, promoting HSC activation and contributing to LF progression. Our findings suggest that NQO1 may serve as a potential biomarker for LF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinying Zhang
- Department of Blood Transfusion, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China; (X.Z.)
- Clinical Transfusion Research Centre, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China;
| | - Chunmeng Fu
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China;
- NHC Key Laboratory of Cancer Proteomics, Department of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China
| | - Ziyue Yang
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Liver Transplantation Liver Cancer Institute and Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Yue Tan
- Department of Pharmacology & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Huan Li
- Department of Blood Transfusion, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China; (X.Z.)
- Clinical Transfusion Research Centre, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China
| | - Xiangqian Zhang
- Department of Blood Transfusion, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China; (X.Z.)
- Clinical Transfusion Research Centre, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China
| | - Mengru Chen
- NHC Key Laboratory of Cancer Proteomics, Department of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China
| | - Fang Peng
- NHC Key Laboratory of Cancer Proteomics, Department of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China
| | - Ning Li
- Department of Blood Transfusion, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China; (X.Z.)
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