Gene expression changes in brain vascularture in Notch3 knockout mice

Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) are important for contraction, blood flow distribution and regulation of blood vessel diameter, but to what extent they contribute to the integrity of blood vessels and blood-brain barrier function is less well understood. In this report, we explored the impact of the progressive loss of VSMC in the Notch3-/- mouse on blood vessel integrity in the central nervous system To explore the molecular consequences of the VSMC phenotype in Notch3-/- mice, we performed genome-wide transcriptional profiling of the brain vasculature in mutants and littermate controls using Affymetrix Mouse Genome 430 2.0 Array. Three Notch3 knockout and three littermate control mice at age of 2 months were used to profile the transcriptomes. Total RNA was extracted from cerebral and cerebellar microvascular fragments and hyrbridized separately on the Mouse Genome 430 2.0 Array according to standard procedures.