Gene expression profiling of mouse sclera during post-natal development

Although there have been studies conducted on cornea and retina growth and development, postnatal gene expression studies on sclera growth during postnatal growth has not been well characterised. Given that the mouse genome has 85% homology to the human genome and has been completely sequenced, mouse model for the study of ocular growth has advantages over other animal models. Thus, we aimed to study the biology and genetics behind sclera growth during post-natal development in Balb/cJ mice as a means to understand genetic changes that cause scleral growth and development during post-natal eye development The purpose of this study was to identify the genes underlying the development of mouse sclera post-natal growth of the posterior chamber of the eye using microarray Total RNA was isolated from single cryogenically ground mouse sclera (n=30, 6 samples each from week 1-, 2-, 3-, 6-and 8-old mice), reverse-transcribed and hybridized onto a Affymetrix mouse gene 1.0 ST array.We sought to use microarray to determine the gene expression profiles of mouse sclera from different age groups and identify the developmental genes that are involved in postnatal ocular growth.

尽管目前已有针对角膜（cornea）与视网膜（retina）生长发育的相关研究，但针对巩膜（sclera）产后生长过程中的基因表达研究尚未得到充分阐释。鉴于小鼠基因组与人类基因组存在85%的同源性且已完成全基因组测序，用于眼部生长研究的小鼠模型相较于其他动物模型具备显著优势。因此，本研究以Balb/cJ小鼠为实验对象，旨在探究其产后发育阶段巩膜生长背后的生物学与遗传学机制，以阐明产后眼部发育过程中调控巩膜生长发育的遗传变化。本研究拟借助微阵列（microarray）技术，鉴定小鼠眼后房巩膜产后生长发育相关的关键基因。实验过程中，我们从单份经低温研磨的小鼠巩膜组织中提取总RNA（Total RNA），样本总量为n=30，分别取自1周、2周、3周、6周及8周龄小鼠，每个年龄组设6个样本，经反转录后与Affymetrix小鼠基因1.0 ST芯片进行杂交。本研究旨在通过微阵列技术分析不同年龄组小鼠巩膜的基因表达谱，筛选参与产后眼部生长发育的发育相关基因。