Expression data from rat vocal fold at different periods after vocal fold injury

Vocal cord healing is a dynamic process, and many genes and proteins are involved, which play varying roles at different regeneration stages after injury. Previous studies have shown that inflammatory responses occur at the early stage of vocal cord injury, where the fibroblasts proliferate exuberantly with intensive secretion and deposition of ECM. These activities reach the peak at 3-7 days and their intensity begins to decline 15 days later. A study based on the dermal system has shown that ECM remodeling during the repair of injury can last for several months. However, few studies have been conducted as to the dynamic changes of gene expressions and signaling pathway during the healing process of vocal cord injury. Plotting these changes will facilitate the understanding about the physiological changes during healing and the identification of key time points and target genes in fibrosis formation. 20 animals were randomly divided into 4 experimental groups based on time of sacrifice: uninjured control, and 1, 4 and 8 weeks after injury. Following sacrifice, the larynx was harvested, and the bilateral vocal folds were dissected under magnification.