Role of zyxin in the tension-induced expression change in endothelial cells

One of the hallmarks in hypertension is a pressure-induced change in endothelial cell phenotype. A cytoskeletal protein zyxin, which was seen to translocate from focal adhesion contacts to the nucleus in response to the increased wall tensionis, mediates the tension-induced endothelial signaling. Microarrays were used to detail the role of zyxin in the tension-induced expression changes in endothelial cells. Primary endothelial cells (Huvec) from four treatment groups were used for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays: wild type under normal condition, wild type under tension, Zyxin-SiRNA-treated under normal condition and Zyxin-SiRNA-treated under tension.