Gene expression profile of diaphragm morphogenesis at different developmental stages

Microarray data from this study represent the first global transcriptional survey of gene expression during early compared to late diaphragm formation. Based on the assumption that Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) candidate genes will have similar temporal expression trends and will be part of the same biological pathways as those already implicated in CDH, we used known CDH-associated genes as "baits" to filter expression microarray data sets (GSEA and STEM) to identify a list of novel CDH candidate genes. Laser-capture microdissected C57BL/6J mouse embryonic diaphragm tissues were studied at three key time-points during normal development. We studied the primordial diaphragm's pleuroperitoneal folds at E11.5 and E12.5, and the muscularized mature diaphragm at E16.5 to identify genes and pathways that characterize important stages in diaphragm morphogenesis.