Gene expression profiles from heart, lung and liver samples of total body irradiated minipigs

The present work identified gene expression changes in response to total body irradiation (TBI) in heart, lungs, and liver tissue in Gottingen minipigs. Animals were exposed to 1.7 Gy, 1.9 Gy, 2.1 Gy and 2.3 Gy of TBI and were followed for 45 days. Organ samples were collected at the end of 45 days or sooner if the animal displayed morbidity necessitating euthanasia. RNA was extracted and gene expression profiling studied using Agilent arrays. Six animals per dose group were used in the study. Three sham irradiated animals served as control. Microarrays were performed in two batches. First batch included sham controls, 1.7Gy, 2.1Gy and 2.3Gy samples while second batch included same sham animals and 1.9Gy animals