Gene expression data from endothelial cells and leukocytes enriched from transplanted rat hearts

Transcriptome analyses of organ transplants have until now usually focused on whole tissue samples containing activation profiles from different cell populations. Here, we enriched endothelial cells from rat cardiac allografts and isografts, establishing their activation profile at baseline and on day 2, 3 and 4 after transplantation. Modulated transcripts were assigned to three categories based on their regulation profile in allografts and isografts. Categories A and B contained the majority of transcripts and showed similar regulation in both graft types, appearing to represent responses to surgical trauma. By contrast, category C contained transcripts that were partly allograft-specific and to a large extent associated with interferon-gamma-responsiveness. Several transcripts were verified by immunohistochemical analysis of graft lesions, among them the matricellular protein periostin which was one of the most highly upregulated transcripts but has not been associated with transplantation previously. In conclusion, the majority of the differentially expressed genes in graft endothelial cells are affected by the transplantation procedure whereas relatively few are associated with allograft rejection.迄今为止，器官移植的转录组（Transcriptome）分析通常聚焦于包含不同细胞群激活谱的全组织样本。本研究从大鼠心脏同种异体移植（allograft）与同系移植（isograft）样本中富集内皮细胞，明确了其在基线状态及移植后第2、3、4天的激活谱。根据两种移植物中的转录本调控谱，将受调控的转录本划分为三类。类别A与类别B涵盖绝大多数转录本，且在两类移植物中呈现相似的调控模式，推测其代表手术创伤引发的应答反应。与之形成对比的是，类别C包含部分同种异体移植特异性转录本，且此类转录本在很大程度上与干扰素γ（interferon-gamma）应答相关。通过对移植病灶的免疫组织化学分析，我们验证了多个转录本的表达变化，其中包括基质细胞蛋白骨膜蛋白（periostin）——它是上调幅度最高的转录本之一，但此前尚未被发现与移植过程相关。综上，移植物内皮细胞中的绝大多数差异表达基因均受移植手术操作影响，仅有相对较少的基因与同种异体移植排斥反应相关。