Gene expression in the adrenal glands of two spontaneously hypertensive rat strains at 3 and 6 weeks of age

We examined gene expression profiles in the rat adrenal glands using genome-wide microarray technology, and determined gene expression profiles in 3 rat strains: normotensive WKY, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), and stroke-prone SHR (SHRSP). To identify candidate genes involved in the genesis of hypertension in the SHR strains, we compared the gene expression levels at 3 and 6 weeks of age, isolated 407 genes showing a more than 4-fold increase or a less than 1/4-fold decrease.本研究采用全基因组微阵列技术，检测了大鼠肾上腺的基因表达谱，并对3个大鼠品系的基因表达谱进行了分析，这3个品系分别为正常血压WKY大鼠（normotensive WKY）、自发性高血压大鼠（spontaneously hypertensive rats, SHR）以及卒中易感型自发性高血压大鼠（stroke-prone SHR, SHRSP）。为筛选参与SHR品系高血压发病机制的候选基因，本研究对比了3周龄与6周龄大鼠的基因表达水平，最终筛选出407个表达上调幅度超过4倍或下调至原始水平1/4以下的基因。