Fig 1: Selection of candidate genes with biomarker potential.(A) Evaluation of gene expression by coefficient of variation across all tissues (y-axis) versus liver tissue expression levels (x-axis, TPM). A high coefficient of variation with respect to tissue selectivity in combination with high liver expression (towards the top right corner) suggests liver-selective expression. (B) Coefficient of variation versus liver tissue expression levels for all identified genes (grey dots) including all DEGs (green dots) as well as for albumin. (C) Coefficient of variation versus liver tissue expression levels for all identified genes (grey dots) including all DEGs (green dots) that were predicted as secreted. Highlighted genes (green boxes), LPA (lipoprotein A), IGFBP-1 (insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 1), SERPINF2 (serpin family F member 2) and MAT1A (methionine adenosyltransferase 1A), were selected and evaluated as gene biomarker candidates of NAFLD. Abbreviations: ALB, albumin; DEGs, differentially expressed genes; NAFLD; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; TPM, transcript per million.