Transcriptomic profiling of wild-type and TigarKO mouse hearts [RNA-Seq]

Myocardial infarction induces profound transcriptional remodeling in the heart, particularly affecting mitochondrial pathways. To characterize zone-specific transcriptomic responses, we performed RNA sequencing of infarct, border, and remote regions from wild-type (WT) and TKO mouse hearts following infarction. Analysis of infarct territories revealed extensive preservation of mitochondrial gene expression in TKO hearts compared with WT controls. In contrast, mitochondrial DNA–encoded gene expression showed no significant differences between WT and TKO hearts in either the border or remote zones. Similarly, expression of nuclear-encoded genes in the border and remote zones was largely unchanged between genotypes. Together, these data indicate that transcriptional differences between WT and TKO hearts are predominantly localized to the infarct region, while border and remote zones exhibit minimal genotype-dependent changes. Overall design: Wild-type (WT) and TKO mice were subjected to myocardial infarction, and each heart was separated into infarct, border, and remote regions using consistent anatomical criteria. Total RNA was isolated from each region and used for bulk RNA sequencing. Gene expression profiles were compared between WT and TKO hearts within each region, with a focus on mitochondrial DNA-encoded and nuclear-encoded genes.