Gene expression profiles in heterogeneous stock rats that differ in glucose tolerance

Using heterogeneous stock (HS) rats, we have identified a region on rat chromosome 1 that maps multiple diabetic traits. We sought to use global expression analysis to determine if genes within this region are differentially expressed between HS rats with normal glucose tolerance and those with glucose intolerance HS rats were euthanized at 17 weeks of age and liver was immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen. RNA was extracted from liver of 23 HS rats with glucose intolerance and 23 HS rats with normal glucose. The Affymetrix 230_2 array was used to probe transcript abundance levels.