Correlations of LncRNA HNF4A-AS1 Alternative Transcripts with Liver Diseases and Drug Metabolism

Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha antisense 1 (HNF4A-AS1) is a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) gene physically located next to the transcription factor HNF4A gene in the human genome. Its transcription products have been reported to inhibit the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and negatively regulate the expression of cytochrome P450s (CYPs), including CYP1A2, 2B6, 2C9, 2C19, 2E1, and 3A4. By altering CYP expression, lncRNA HNF4A-AS1 also contributes to the susceptibility of drug-induced liver injury. Thus, HNF4A-AS1 lncRNA is a promising target for controlling HCC and modulating drug metabolism. However, HNF4A-AS1 has 4 annotated alternative transcripts in the human genome browsers, and it is unclear which transcripts the siRNAs or shRNAs used in the previous studies are silenced and which transcripts should be used as the target. In this study, 4 annotated and 2 newly identified transcripts were confirmed. These 6 transcripts showed different expression levels in different liver disease conditions, including metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, alcohol-associated liver disease, and obesity. The expression patterns of all HNF4A-AS1 transcripts were further investigated in liver cell growth from human embryonic stem cells to matured hepatocyte-like cells, HepaRG differentiation, and exposure to rifampicin treatment. Several HNF4A-AS1 transcripts highly displayed correlations with these situations. In addition, some of the HNF4A-AS1 transcripts also showed a strong correlation with CYP3A4 during HepaRG maturation and rifampicin exposure. Our findings provide valuable insights into the specific roles of HNF4A-AS1 transcripts, paving the way for more targeted therapeutic strategies for liver diseases and drug metabolism. Significance Statement This study explores the alternative transcripts of HNF4A-AS1, showing how their expression changes in different biological conditions, from various liver diseases to the growth and differentiation of hepatocytes, and drug metabolism. The generated knowledge is essential for understanding the independent roles of different transcripts from the same lncRNA in different liver diseases and drug metabolism situations.