Gene expression profiling on bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells treated with all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA). Homo sapiens

All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) is a potent retinoid, which has been used successfully in different clinical settings as a potential drug to treat COPD and emphysema. In alveolar macrophages, ATRA selectively down-regulates MMP-9 and up-regulates TIMP-1 expression. In the present study, we analyzed additional genes modulated by ATRA by performing mRNA expression array on alveolar macrophages after treatment with ATRA. Overall design: Total RNA was isolated from BAL cells cultivated either in the presence of liposomal ATRA or left untreated for 3 days. Total RNA from five independent donors were pooled at 0.4 µg each to give a final amount of 2µg. This pooled RNA was used for microarray analysis using the Affymatrix array