RNA-seq Analysis of Injured vs Sham Aortic Valves in Mice 48 hours Post-Injury

In order to analyze molecular changes in response to endothelial injury, the aortic valve in wild type mice was injured by inserting a thin anigoplasty guidewire into the mouse carotid artery and advancing the wire through the aortic valve opening. This procedure produced damage to the layer of valve endothelial cells surroung the outer edge of the valve leaflet. Sham surgery consisted of the same wire insertion prcoedure but the wire was not advanced to the level of the valve. The surgical procedure was performed in young (3-4 month old) and aging (16-18 month old) mice. Individual sham and injured aortic valves were collected 48 hours after surgery and submitted for sequencing (one valve per biological replicate).

为分析内皮损伤应答中的分子变化，研究人员通过将细血管成形术（angioplasty）导丝插入小鼠颈动脉并经主动脉瓣口推送该导丝，对野生型小鼠的主动脉瓣造成损伤。该操作会损伤环绕瓣膜小叶外缘的瓣膜内皮细胞层。假手术组采用相同的导丝插入流程，但不将导丝推送至瓣膜所在位置。本实验在年轻（3~4月龄）与衰老（16~18月龄）小鼠中开展。术后48小时分别收集假手术组与损伤组的单个主动脉瓣，提交测序（每个生物学重复对应一个瓣膜）。