mRNA expression in rabbit experimental aneurysms: a study using gene chip microarrays.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The molecular characteristics of intracranial aneurysms are still poorly documented. A rabbit elastase aneurysm model has been helpful in the evaluation of devices and strategies involved in endovascular treatment of aneurysms. The goal of this project was to document the molecular changes, assessed by gene chip microarrays, associated with the creation of aneurysms in this model compared with the contralateral carotid artery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A microarray of rabbit genes of interest was constructed using rabbit nucleotide sequences from GenBank. Elastase-induced saccular aneurysms were created at the origin of the right common carotid artery in 4 rabbits. Twelve weeks after aneurysm creation, RNA was isolated from the aneurysm as well as the contralateral common carotid artery and used for microarray experiments. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed on 1 animal as a confirmatory test. RESULTS: Ninety-six (46%) of 209 genes in the microarray were differentially expressed in the rabbit aneurysm compared with the contralateral common carotid artery. In general, differential gene expression followed specific molecular pathways. Similarities were found between rabbit aneurysms and human intracranial aneurysms, including increased metalloproteinase activity and decreased production of the extracellular matrix. RT-PCR results confirmed the differential expression found by the gene chip microarray. CONCLUSIONS: The molecular characteristics of the rabbit elastase-induced saccular aneurysm are described. The rabbit aneurysm model shares some molecular features with human intracranial aneurysms. Future studies can use the rabbit model and the new rabbit gene chip microarray to study the molecular aspects of saccular aneurysms.

Oncogenes in Ras signalling pathway dictate host-cell permissiveness to herpes simplex virus 1.

The importance of herpes simplex viruses (HSV) as human pathogens and the emerging prospect of using mutant derivatives of HSV-1 as potential anti-cancer therapeutics have necessitated a thorough investigation into the molecular basis of host-cell permissiveness to HSV. Here we show that NIH-3T3 cells transformed with the oncogenes v-erbB, activated sos or activated ras become significantly more permissive to HSV-1. Inhibitors of the Ras signalling pathway, such as farnesyl transferase inhibitor 1 and PD98059, effectively suppressed HSV-1 infection of ras-transformed cells. Enhanced permissiveness of the transformed cells was linked to the inhibition of virus-induced activation (phosphorylation) of the double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase (PKR), thereby allowing viral transcripts to be translated in these cells. An HSV-1-derived oncolytic mutant, R3616, was also found to infect preferentially both transformed cells and PKR-/- (but not PKR+/+) mouse embryo fibroblasts. These observations suggest that HSV-1 specifically targets cells with an activated Ras signalling pathway, and have important ramifications in the use of engineered HSV in cancer therapy, the development of strategies against HSV infections, and the controversial role of HSV in human cancers.