Transcriptome analysis reveals organ-specific effects of 2-deoxyglucose treatment in healthy mice

• Published in: PloS one 2024-03, Vol.19 (3), p.e0299595-e0299595
• Main Authors: Wells, Ann E, Wilson, John J, Heuer, Sarah E, Sears, John D, Wei, Jian, Pandey, Raghav, Costa, Mauro W, Kaczorowski, Catherine C, Roopenian, Derry C, Chang, Chih-Hao, Carter, Gregory W
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Animals; Arthritis; B cells; Biology and Life Sciences; Care and treatment; Chronic diseases; Deoxyglucose - metabolism; Deoxyglucose - pharmacology; Deoxyribose; Dextrose; Diagnosis; Dosage and administration; Epilepsy; Gene Expression Profiling; Genes; Genetic transcription; Glucose; Glucose - metabolism; Health aspects; Mediation; Medicine and Health Sciences; Methods; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Principal components analysis; Research and Analysis Methods; Rheumatoid factor; Risk factors; Systemic lupus erythematosus
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299595

Glycolytic inhibition via 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) has potential therapeutic benefits for a range of diseases, including cancer, epilepsy, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and COVID-19, but the systemic effects of 2DG on gene function across different tissues are unclear. This study analyzed the transcriptional profiles of nine tissues from C57BL/6J mice treated with 2DG to understand how it modulates pathways systemically. Principal component analysis (PCA), weighted gene co-network analysis (WGCNA), analysis of variance, and pathway analysis were all performed to identify modules altered by 2DG treatment. PCA revealed that samples clustered predominantly by tissue, suggesting that 2DG affects each tissue uniquely. Unsupervised clustering and WGCNA revealed six distinct tissue-specific modules significantly affected by 2DG, each with unique key pathways and genes. 2DG predominantly affected mitochondrial metabolism in the heart, while in the small intestine, it affected immunological pathways. These findings suggest that 2DG has a systemic impact that varies across organs, potentially affecting multiple pathways and functions. The study provides insights into the potential therapeutic benefits of 2DG across different diseases and highlights the importance of understanding its systemic effects for future research and clinical applications.