GSE33111 mRNA expression profiles of Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) in the 2nd trimester of human fetus

The objective of our study was to generate and to compare mRNA profiles of NTDs with those of normal controls in the 2nd trimesters of pregnancy. Illumina microarray chips (beadarrays) were utilized to identify the altered mRNA transcripts in the organ samples recruited from Luliang Prefecture in Shanxi Province, China, which has the highest occurrence of NTDs in world. The beadarrays identified 101 un-regulated and 194 down-regulated mRNA transcripts in the NTDs compared with the controls in the spinal cord. A number of genes in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway were down-regulated. In particular, SIRT2, a key regulator of cholesterol biosynthesis, was significantly down-regulated in NTD samples. Our findings provide evidences that, the decrease of cholesterol biosynthesis in the spinal cord of NTD may affect the neural tube closure in the affected fetuses.
Source: GEO: Gene Expression Omnibus - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: Expression profiling by array Homo sapiens Source Type: research