Research

Gene expression in acute Stanford type A dissection: a comparative microarray study

Barbara Theresia Weis-Müller^1* , Olga Modlich^2* , Irina Drobinskaya² , Derya Unay² , Rita Huber¹ , Hans Bojar² , Jochen D Schipke³ , Peter Feindt⁴ , Emmeran Gams⁴ , Wolfram Müller⁵ , Timm Goecke⁶ and Wilhelm Sandmann¹

¹  Department of Vascular Surgery and Kidney Transplantation, Heinrich-Heine-University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

²  Department of Chemical Oncology, Heinrich-Heine-University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

³  Research Group Experimental Surgery, Heinrich-Heine-University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

⁴  Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Heinrich-Heine-University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

⁵  Pathology Starnberg, private pathological practice, Starnberg, Germany

⁶  Institute of Human Genetics, Heinrich-Heine-University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

author email corresponding author email* Contributed equally

Journal of Translational Medicine 2006, 4:29doi:10.1186/1479-5876-4-29

Published:	6 July 2006

Abstract

Background

We compared gene expression profiles in acutely dissected aorta with those in normal control aorta.

Materials and methods

Ascending aorta specimen from patients with an acute Stanford A-dissection were taken during surgery and compared with those from normal ascending aorta from multiorgan donors using the BD Atlas™ Human1.2 Array I, BD Atlas™ Human Cardiovascular Array and the Affymetrix HG-U133A GeneChip^®. For analysis only genes with strong signals of more than 70 percent of the mean signal of all spots on the array were accepted as being expressed. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to confirm regulation of expression of a subset of 24 genes known to be involved in aortic structure and function.

Results

According to our definition expression profiling of aorta tissue specimens revealed an expression of 19.1% to 23.5% of the genes listed on the arrays. Of those 15.7% to 28.9% were differently expressed in dissected and control aorta specimens. Several genes that encode for extracellular matrix components such as collagen IV α2 and -α5, collagen VI α3, collagen XIV α1, collagen XVIII α1 and elastin were down-regulated in aortic dissection, whereas levels of matrix metalloproteinases-11, -14 and -19 were increased. Some genes coding for cell to cell adhesion, cell to matrix signaling (e.g., polycystin1 and -2), cytoskeleton, as well as several myofibrillar genes (e.g., α-actinin, tropomyosin, gelsolin) were found to be down-regulated. Not surprisingly, some genes associated with chronic inflammation such as interleukin -2, -6 and -8, were up-regulated in dissection.

Conclusion

Our results demonstrate the complexity of the dissecting process on a molecular level. Genes coding for the integrity and strength of the aortic wall were down-regulated whereas components of inflammatory response were up-regulated. Altered patterns of gene expression indicate a pre-existing structural failure, which is probably a consequence of insufficient remodeling of the aortic wall resulting in further aortic dissection.