Work

Systematic comparison of temporal hepatotoxicant-induced gene network responses across 3 liver test systems

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) arises from dynamic and time-dependent cellular stress responses that remain insufficiently captured by conventional single-timepoint toxicogenomic assessments. We systematically characterized temporal and concentration-dependent transcriptomic responses to the clinically relevant hepatotoxicants ketoconazole, diclofenac, and nitrofurantoin across 3 human liver in vitro models: primary human hepatocytes (PHH), hiPSC-derived hepatocyte-like cells (HLC), and HepG2 cells. Time-resolved RNA sequencing (0 to 48 h) combined with likelihood ratio testing identified time-responsive genes (TRGs), which were subsequently integrated into TXG-MAPr gene co-expression modules to enable mechanistic interpretation at the network level. Across all models and compounds, a conserved core stress response was observed, characterized by activation of ER stress (ATF4), oxidative stress (NRF2), and heat shock (HSF1) pathways, whereas distinct model-specific adaptive programs reflected differences in metabolic competence and differentiation status. Mapping TRGs onto co-expression networks revealed coordinated temporal activation patterns and highlighted both shared and system-specific transcriptional programs. Concentration-response analysis at 24 h demonstrated that module-level transcriptomic points of departure (tPODs) were highly reproducible across models for a subset of functionally annotated networks, particularly ER stress modules associated with hepatocellular injury in vivo. Notably, these modules showed substantial gene-level concordance across systems, supporting their biological robustness and translational relevance. These findings establish that time-resolved, network-based transcriptomics provides mechanistically grounded, reproducible, and quantitative endpoints that enhance cross-system comparability and offer a scalable framework for regulatory toxicology and next-generation chemical risk assessment.

Source: Toxicological Sciences

DOI: 10.1093/toxsci/kfag088