Gene expression profile of native human retinal pigment epithelium.
OBJECTIVE
To generate a profile of genes expressed in the native human retinal pigment epithelium and identify candidate genes for retinal and macular diseases.


METHODS
Two cDNA libraries (one amplified, the other unamplified) were constructed using RNA isolated from native human RPE sheets. The sequence from the 5' end was obtained for randomly selected clones from the two libraries. Of these, more than 2000 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were analyzed for similarity to sequences and gene clusters in public databases.


RESULTS
EST analysis revealed several known RPE-expressed genes and more than 500 genes that have been characterized previously but were not known to be expressed in the RPE. Transthyretin and 90-kDa heat shock protein represent the most abundant transcripts identified in these RPE libraries. More than 200 novel ESTs and putative proteins were identified. An additional 344 sequences matched only the human genomic sequence.


CONCLUSIONS
High-complexity cDNA libraries were generated from native human RPE. Analysis of ESTs generated from these libraries has yielded a profile of genes expressed in the native RPE. Several of the identified genes are known to play a significant role in the RPE. Novel ESTs, putative proteins, and genomic hits may represent as yet unidentified RPE-expressed genes and many of these, mapping in the region of retinal disease loci, may serve as candidate genes. In addition, the nonredundant set of more than 1100 genes and ESTs described herein will be a valuable resource for generating gene microarrays, which can assist in delineating RPE expression profiles during human disease pathogenesis.
Buraczynska
Monika
M
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, W.K. Kellogg Eye Center, University of Michigan, 1000 Wall Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA.
Mears
Alan J
AJ
Zareparsi
Sepideh
S
Farjo
Rafal
R
Filippova
Elena
E
Yuan
Yukun
Y
MacNee
Sean P
SP
Hughes
Bret
B
Swaroop
Anand
A
D002648:Child; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis*; D020224:Expressed Sequence Tags; D005136:Eye Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015723:Gene Library; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010857:Pigment Epithelium of Eye / Q000378:metabolism*
D005136:Eye Proteins; D004247:DNA