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.本研究采用基因芯片（microarray）技术分析轻度与重度挫伤肌肉的基因表达谱，旨在为肌肉修复过程的潜在分子机制提供更多研究依据。此外，本研究旨在筛选可用于损伤时间推断的、具备时间依赖性表达特征的有效生物标志物。为探究机械性肌肉损伤后的细胞应答反应，本研究构建了轻度与重度肌肉挫伤动物模型。将33只大鼠随机分为对照组（n=3）、轻度挫伤组（n=15）与重度挫伤组（n=15）；其中挫伤组进一步划分为5个亚组，分别为损伤后1、3、24、48及168小时亚组，每个亚组含3只大鼠。从肌肉组织中提取总RNA，使用Affymetrix大鼠基因2.0 ST芯片，通过基因芯片技术完成表达谱分析。