Gene expression Profiles following mild and severe muslce contusion in rats

We used microarray to investigate gene expression profiles of mildly and severely contused muscle and aimed to provide more information about the molecular mechanisms underlying the repair process. Moreover, we have an attempt to identify useful markers with time-dependent expression for wound age estimation. Animal models of muscle contusion (mild and severe) were developed to investigate the cellular response to mechanical muscle damage A total of 33 rats were divided randomly into control (n = 3), mild contusion (n = 15), and severe contusion (n = 15) groups; the contusion groups were further divided into five subgroups (1, 3, 24, 48, and 168 h post-injury; n = 3 per subgroup). Total RNA was isolated from muscle tissue for analysis by microarray using the Affymetrix rat Gene 2.0 ST chip.