Transcriptome analyses of prostatic hyperplasia in Esr2 knockout rats

Disruption of ESR2 signaling resulted in prostatic glandular hyperplasia in the rat. To identify the ESR2-target genes, and the molecular mechanisms involved, we performed RNA-seq analyses in prostate glands of Esr2 null mutant (Esr2-/-) and age matched wild type rats. The raw data were analyzed using CLC genomics workbench. High quality RNA-seq reads were aligned to the Rattus norvegicus genome. Differentially expressed genes were identified based on an absolute fold change of 2 with p-Value ≤0.05. Of the total 32,623 genes detected, 824 were differentially expressed in Esr2-/- prostate glands, 550 downregulated and 274 upregulated. Pathway analyses identified altered expression of genes involved in epithelial proliferation and benign tumor formation.