Developmental gene expression differences between neonatal and adult mouse atria and ventricles

We study the role of glycosylation in ion channel function. Specfically, we are focusing on how ion channel glycosylation modulates, controls, and impacts cardiac, skeletal muscle, and neuronal electrical activity. We wish to determine differences in gene expression through development and between the atria and ventricles of the mouse heart. Our data indicate differential sialylation directly affects voltage-gated sodium channel function through the developing heart in a chamber-specific manner. We wish to expand our findings to include other ion channels involved in the cardiac action potential, and to eventually create a map of the cardiac conduction system that details the role of differential glycosylation in cardiac excitability. Determining differential expression of the genes that regulate ion channel glycosylation is vital to these goals. We analyzed four sets of pooled RNA to be run in triplicate: one each from neonatal and adult mouse atria and ventricles.本研究聚焦糖基化（glycosylation）在离子通道（ion channel）功能中的作用。具体而言，本研究旨在阐明离子通道糖基化如何调控、控制并影响心脏、骨骼肌及神经元的电活动。我们希望明确小鼠心脏发育过程中，以及心房与心室之间的基因表达差异。本研究数据显示，发育中心脏内的差异性唾液酸化（sialylation）会以腔室特异性方式直接影响电压门控钠通道（voltage-gated sodium channel）的功能。我们计划将研究拓展至其他参与心脏动作电位（cardiac action potential）的离子通道，并最终绘制心脏传导系统（cardiac conduction system）图谱，详细阐明差异性糖基化在心脏兴奋性中的作用。明确调控离子通道糖基化的基因的差异性表达，对实现上述研究目标至关重要。我们对四组混合RNA（pooled RNA）样本进行了三次重复实验分析，样本分别取自新生小鼠与成年小鼠的心房及心室。