Transcription profiling of mouse smooth muscle cells in atherosclerosis-prone and resistant regions of the aorta of apoE-/- mice at age of 4 months
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ABSTRACT: This study compared gene expression in smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in atherosclerosis-prone and atherosclerosis-resistant aorta segments in 4 months old apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE-/-) mice before plaque development. In a parallel experiment, both regions were compared in young C57Bl/6 mice. Aortas of 3 male and 3 female ApoE-/- mice were isolated, perfused with triton X-100 to remove endothelial cells and divided in an atherosclerosis-prone region (AA: ascending aorta, aortic arch and proximal 2 mm of thoracic aorta) and a resistant region (TA: central thoracic aorta, i.e. 6 mm distal from the proximal 2 mm). Microarray analysis (VIB-MAF) of pooled total RNA showed differential expression (>2-fold difference) for 244 genes. Up- or downregulation in the AA was observed for 186 and 58 genes respectively. Differential expression of 6 genes was confirmed using real-time PCR. The 201 genes that showed exclusively differential expression in apoE-/- mice were related to processes involved in atherosclerosis, such as cell adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, motility and death, lipid metabolism and immune responses. Furthermore, the transcription profile of the AA was in accordance with a more synthetic SMC phenotype. These results point to an altered transcriptome in SMCs in the aorta of apoE-/- mice at the atherosclerosis-prone location before actual lesion development. This suggests that SMCs, in addition to endothelial cells, can facilitate plaque formation at predilection sites. Experiment Overall Design: samples were hyrbidized in dye-swap.
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
SUBMITTER: Joke Allemeersch
PROVIDER: E-GEOD-13836 | biostudies-arrayexpress |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress
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