Inhibitor Trials. Mus musculus

Objectives: To identify similarities and differences in gene expression data in the MEK/ERK and PI3K pathways and to determine how histone modification affects these same pathways. Goal: To identify and functionally characterize novel targets of these signaling pathways in the context of chondrocyte differentiation. Keywords: Teatment, signaling, one-colour array, signaling pathway comparison Overall design: Cartilage derived from the hind limbs of CD1 mice staged at 15.5 days of embryonic development were dissected and plated in primary chondrocyte monolayer cultures. Cells were treated with MEK/ERK pathway inhibitors (SB202190 and UO126), a PI3K inhibitor (LY294002), a histone deacetylase inhibitor (Trichostatin A) and the vehicle control (DMSO) for two hours. Total RNA was isolated from these samples and hybridized to Affymetrix MOE 430 2.0 chips at the London Regional Genomics facility. A total of 15 genechips were analyzed between 4 treatments and the vehicle (DMSO) control. Three biological replicates per treatment were executed.