Analysis of the effect of vascular endothelial growth factor on gene expression profile after focal cerebral ischemia in mouse

To investigate the effect of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) on gene expression profile after focal cerebral ischemia in mouse, we employed Agilent SurePrint G3 Mouse Gene Expression 8×60K Microarray as a platform to identify which genes influenced by VEGF in mouse after focal cerebral ischemia. Mice were randomized to sham group, in which mice underwent sham surgery; MCAO group, in which transient (90 min) middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model was performed and mice received vehicle (PBS, 0.01M, pH 7.4) intracerebroventricularly in the right lateral ventricle 3hr after reperfusion; VEGF group (n = 36), in which rhVEGF-A165 (10μg/ml, dissolved in 0.01M PBS) was injected into the right lateral ventricle 3hr after reperfusion. Mice were sacrificed at 24hr after reperfusion, brains removed and peri-infarct areas were used for microarray. Gene expression microarray was applied to investigate the differentially expressed genes among sham group, MCAO group and VEGF group. Expression of thirty-seven genes was confirmed in the same RNA samples by real-time PCR. Gene expression in sham group, MCAO group and VEGF group was measured at 24 hours after reperfusion. Three independent experiments were performed using different mice for each experiment.