Transcription profiling of brains from wild type and beta4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunit deficient mice to identify genes that might be related to beta4-containing nAChRs activity

Studies using mice with beta4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunit deficiency (beta4-/- mice) helped reveal the roles of this subunit in bradycardiac response to vagal stimulation, nicotine-induced seizure activity and anxiety. In order to identify genes that might be related to beta4-containing nAChRs activity, we compared the mRNA expression profiles of brains from beta4-/- and wild-type mice using Affymetrix U74Avr2 microarray. Experiment Overall Design: The experimental groups included six wild-type mice and five beta4-/- mice. All mice were 6-9 weeks old. Total RNA was extracted from whole brain tissue of the mice.