Pipettes And Politics

Background: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is the fastest-growing etiology of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This work identifies novel gene and lipid associations in human MASLD-driven HCC that may be exploited for therapeutic benefit. Methods: Human HCC tumor (n=8) and adjacent non-tumor samples (n=8) were obtained from the Biospecimen Procurement and Translational Pathology Shared Resource Facility at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center. All patients met cardiometabolic MASLD criteria and were negative for viral hepatitis. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining was used for pathological determination of tumor and adjacent nontumor tissue. Lipids were extracted using a methyl-tert-butyl ether extraction method and subjected to lipidomics by the West Coast Metabolomics Center. RNA was isolated and used for bulk sequencing. Data were analyzed using paired nonparametric analyses via a Wilcoxon or Mann-Whitney test, as appropriate. Results: Histological analysis by H