p53 Contributes to Differentiating Gene Expression Following Exposure to Acetaminophen and Its Less Hepatotoxic Regioisomer Both In Vitro and In Vivo

The goal of the present study was to compare hepatic toxicogenomic signatures across in vitro and in vivo mouse models following exposure to acetaminophen (APAP) or its relatively nontoxic regioisomer 3'-hydroxyacetanilide (AMAP). Two different Affymetrix microarray platforms and one Agilent Oligonucleotide microarray were utilized. APAP and AMAP treatments resulted in significant and large changes in gene expression that were quite disparate, and likely related to their different toxicologic profiles. Ten transcripts, all of which have been implicated in p53 signaling, were identified as differentially regulated at all time-points following APAP and AMAP treatments across multiple microarray platforms. Protein-level quantification of p53 activity aligned with results from the transcriptomic analysis, thus supporting the implicated mechanism of APAP-induced toxicity. Therefore, the results of this study provide good evidence that APAP-induced p53 phosphorylation and an altered p53-driven transcriptional response are fundamental steps in APAP-induced toxicity.