DNA microarray analysis of gene expression in endothelial cells in response to 24-h shear stress

• Published in: Physiological genomics 2001-10, Vol.7 (1), p.55-63
• Main Authors: CHEN, BENJAMIN P. C, LI, YI-SHUAN, ZHAO, YIHUA, CHEN, KUANG-DEN, LI, SONG, LAO, JIANMIN, YUAN, SULI, SHYY, JOHN Y.-J, CHIEN, SHU
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aorta; Blood Flow Velocity; Blotting, Northern; Cell Division - genetics; Cells, Cultured; Endothelium, Vascular - cytology; Endothelium, Vascular - metabolism; Endothelium, Vascular - pathology; Female; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation; Hemorheology; Humans; Inflammation - genetics; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Messenger - genetics; RNA, Messenger - metabolism; Signal Transduction - genetics; Time Factors
• ISSN: 1094-8341; 1531-2267
• DOI: 10.1152/physiolgenomics.2001.7.1.55

1 Department of Bioengineering and the Whitaker Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093-0427 2 Division of Biomedical Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California The recently developed DNA microarray technology provides a powerful and efficient tool to rapidly compare the differential expression of a large number of genes. Using the DNA microarray approach, we investigated gene expression profiles in cultured human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) in response to 24 h of laminar shear stress at 12 dyn/cm 2 . This relatively long-term shearing of cultured HAECs led to the modulation of the expression of a number of genes. Several genes related to inflammation and EC proliferation were downregulated, suggesting that 24-h shearing may keep ECs in a relatively noninflammatory and nonproliferative state compared with static cells. Some genes were significantly upregulated by the 24-h shear stress; these includes genes involved in EC survival and angiogenesis (Tie2 and Flk-1) and vascular remodeling (matrix metalloproteinase 1). These results provide information on the profile of gene expression in shear-adapted ECs, which is the case for the native ECs in the straight part of the aorta in vivo. DNA microarray; endothelial cells; gene expression; shear stress