Gene expression after 24h Cocoa Extract incubation in HT29 cells

Cocoa consumption is associated with beneficial effects on human health. This has been attributed to its polyphenol components and their oligomers, which have been shown to decrease the risk of cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases, metabolic disorders, and to play a role in cancer prevention. We tested cocoa modulation on the gene expression profile of colon cancer HT-29 cells using Affymetrix microarrays. Among the genes differentially expressed in HT-29 cells upon incubation with cocoa extract, 48 were identified as Interferon regulated genes using the INTERFEROME database. Furthermore, a BAN constructed using the Pathway Architect software revealed that STAT1, IF44 and AGT were all highly interconnected nodes. HT29 cells (300,000) were plated and the following day they were treated in triplicate with either saline (control) or 500 µg PCE for 24 hours. After the incubation Total RNA was extracted using Qiagen RNAeasy minikit. Gene expression was analyzed by hybridization to the GeneChip® Human Genome U133 PLUS 2.0 microarrays from Affymettrix containing over 54,700 transcripts and variants. Microarray results were analyzed using the GeneSpring GX software.