Murine Kidney Tissue: Unilateral ureteral obstructed mice vs. Sham control

We hypothesize that there are gene expression alterations correlated with obstructive nephropathy that could serve as biomarkers for early intervention. METHODS: C57BL/6 mice were subjected to Unilateral Urethral Obstruction (UUO) or sham surgery at postnatal day 21 of life, and kidneys were harvested after 1, 2, 5 and 9 days postoperatively. RNA was extracted from kidneys and comprehensive gene expression profiling was performed with Agilent microarrays. We used biological replicates: 13 UUO replicates, 9 sham replicates. 2-Channel microarrays were hybridized using universal reference in the Cy3 channel. Ingenuity pathway analysis was used to analyze the biological function and gene networks of gene expression data. RESULTS: Microarray analysis revealed more than 1800 transcripts that were up- or down-regulated over days 1 through 9 following obstruction, and included many transcripts reported previously (FOS, CD44, CLU, SPP1 and EGF). Pathway analysis revealed significant enrichment of transcripts in cell activation/differentiation, immune/inflammatory responses, cell cycle, metabolic process and transport. Interestingly, IPA network analysis showed that transcriptional regulatory pathway involving CEBPB/HNF4A is involved in obstructive nephropathy. CONCLUSIONS: Transcript profiling identified numerous gene expression changes following UUO and suggests a role for CEBPB/HNF4A pathway in obstructive nephropathy. This dataset provides a foundation for development of biomarkers for obstructive nephropathy. Time: day samples were collected post operation Somatic Modification: mice were operated on to generate urethral obstruction (Obstructed/Control)