Investigating Pathogenic and Hepatocarcinogenic Mechanisms from Normal Liver to HCC by Constructing Genetic and Epigenetic Networks via Big Genetic and Epigenetic Data Mining and Genome-Wide NGS Data Identification

Figure 5

Signaling pathways for investigating cellular mechanisms of progression for pathogenesis from normal to NAFLD&NASH. The orange dotted lines and the blue dash-dotted lines represent the specific edges of the real GENs, including PPINs and GRNs, in normal and NAFLD&NASH, respectively; the green solid lines denote the common edges between normal and NAFLD&NASH; the blue and black symbols indicate specific core members of the real GENs in normal and NAFLD&NASH, respectively; and the green symbols are the common core members between normal and NAFLD&NASH. In this figure, these core members are padded to complete the relevant signaling pathways for the convenience of analysis. The cytosolic proteins involved in the MAPK and the WNT pathways were highlighted by light-gray and light-blue bands, respectively. Dysfunction of DNA repair via DNA hypermethylation and hepatic triglyceride excessive accumulation results in the pathogenesis of NAFLD&NASH. Dysregulation of miR-21 contributes to the dysfunction of apoptosis in NAFLD&NASH.