Expression data from mouse intestine: C57Bl/6 MTHFR+/- vs BALB/c MTHFR+/-

Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that low folate diet (control diet with 2mg folate/kg, low folate diet with 0.3mg folate/kg) can induce intestinal tumors in BALB/c mice. In addition, we reported that C57Bl/6J mice did not form tumors under the same conditions. We used microarrays to identify the genetic differences between BALB/c and C57Bl/6J mice that promote tumorigenesis in BALB/c mice. Two groups of mice will be used in the micro-array experiment. One group will consist of four BALB/c mice and the second group will consist of four C57Bl/6 mice. Both groups have mild MTHFR deficiency (Mthfr+/-) and will receive low folate diet (0.3 mg folate/kg) for one year. RNA samples will be extracted from duodenum, the first section of the small intestine where tumors were observed in BALB/c mice. Eight Affymetrix GeneChip Mouse Gene 1.0 ST Array Chips will be used in this experiment.