Microarray analysis of hepatic genes differentially expressed in the presence of the unsaponifiable fraction of olive oil in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice

Abstract

The hypothesis that the unsaponifiable fraction of olive oil dramatically influences hepatic gene expression was tested in mice. Two olive oils, obtained from the same olive cultivar but by different technological procedures, were characterized to show that they differed mainly in terms of the composition/quantity of this unsaponifiable fraction. Using DNA microarrays, hepatic gene expression was analysed in apoE-deficient mice fed one of two isoenergetic, isonitrogenous diets containing either 10% (w/w) olive oil or unsaponifiable fraction-enriched olive oil. To provide an initial screening of potential candidate genes involved in a differential response, only genes with remarkably modified expression (signal log2 ratio ≥3 or