Expression data from foam cells of apolipoprotein E-deficient mice

Hypercholesterolemai is a major contributor to atherosclerosis development. To assess the effects of hypercholesterolemia on the transcriptional profiling in foam cells, mice were fed regular chow, or WD for 2 or 14 weeks prior to sacrifice. We used microarrays for broad analysis of gene expression in the 3 experimental groups. Each group included 5 mice. ApoE-/- mice were fed regular mouse chow to the age of 22 weeks (CHOW) or a western-type diet for 2 weeks between weeks 22 and 24 (2w-WD) or for 14 weeks between weeks 8 and 22 (14w-WD). Foam cells in cross-sections of the aourtic sinus were isolated by laser-capsure microdissection (n=5 per group). RNA was amplified by in vitro transcription, biotinylated, and hybridized to Affymetrix Mouse Genome 430 2.0 Arrays.