Cavin1 Deficiency Alters Lung macrophage homeostasis in Mouse. Mus musculus

Caveolae are cell membrane invaginations that are highly abundant in adipose tissue, endothelial cells and lung and are present at lower levels in other tissues. The formation of caveolae is dependent of the expression of various structural proteins that serve as scaffolding for these membrane invaginations. Cavin1 is a newly identified structural protein whose deficiency leads to absence of caveolae formation and to the development of a lipodystrophic phenotype. In this study we show Cavin1 expression is critical for regulating macrophage number and gene-expression (phenotype) in the lung. We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression in alveolar macrophage in a Cavin1 knock-out mouse and identified distinct classes of dysregulated genes during this process. Overall design: Bronchoalveolar Lavage performed though a 22-gauge needle tied in place to trachea with PBS containing 0.5 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Aliquots of 0.5 to 1 ml were instilled into the lungs under direct observation to ensure that all segments of lung were inflated, and aspirated back into the syringe. This was repeated five times per mouse. RNA was extracted from extracted alveolar macrophages and hybridized to Affymetrix microarrays for gene expression analysis.