Project description:We used Nimblegen HD aCGH to detect copy-number variants between genomes of BN and SHR rats Comparison of single BN against single SHR individual in a dye-swap experiment
Project description:We compared tissue Na+ storage in salt sensitive spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) versus salt resistant normotensive Brown Norway (BN) rats after salt loading (10 days drinking 1% NaCl solution), the SHR showed significant parallel increase in osmotically inactive Na+ storage in the skin while no significant changes in skin electrolyte concentrations were observed in BN rats. SHR rats after salt treatment exhibited a nonsignificant decrease in skin blood capillary number (rarefaction) while BN rats showed significantly increased skin blood capillary density. Analysis of dermal gene expression profiles in BN rats after salt treatment showed significant up-regulation of genes involved in angiogenesis and proliferation of endothelial cells contrary to the SHR.
Project description:Here, we investigated whether prenatal exposure to nicotine alters kidney glomerular mass and genome-wide gene expression profiles in two genetically distant strains of rats, namely spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Brown Norway (BN) rats. Nicotine or saline were administered to BN and SHR dams via osmotic pumps throughout gestation. Kidneys from 9-week-old male offspring were studied.
Project description:Background Digital gene expression (DGE) profiling has become an established tool to study RNA expression. Here, we provide an in-depth analysis of small RNA DGE profiles from two different rat strains (BN-Lx and SHR) from six different rat tissues (spleen, liver, brain, testis, heart, kidney). We describe the expression patterns of known and novel micro (mi)RNAs and piwi-interacting (pi)RNAs. We confirmed the expression of 589 known miRNAs and identified 56 miRNAs homologous to known human or mouse miRNAs, as well as 45 new rat miRNAs. Furthermore, we confirmed specific A to I editing in brain for mir-376a/b/c and identified mir-377 as a novel editing target. In accordance with earlier findings, we observed a highly tissue-specific expression pattern for all tissues analyzed. The brain was found to express the highest number of tissue-specific miRNAs, followed by testis. Notably, our experiments also revealed robust strain-specific differential miRNA expression in the liver that is caused by genetic variation between the strains. Finally, we identified two types of germline-specific piRNAs in testis, mapping either to transposons or in strand-specific clusters. Taken together, the small RNA compendium described here advances the annotation of small RNAs in the rat genome. Strain and tissue-specific expression patterns furthermore provide a strong basis for studying the role of small RNAs in regulatory networks as well as biological process like physiology and neurobiology that are extensively studied in this model system. Small RNAs from 6 tissues were cloned and sequenced. Tissues included whole brain, liver, spleen, heart, testis, kidney. Tissues were sequenced from 2 rats: one BN-Lx rat and one SHR rat. For strain-specific miRNA expression we included 4 replicate whole livers, i.e. from 2 BN-Lx rats and 2 SHR rats.