title: Expression changes and bioinformatic analysis of Wallerian degeneration after sciatic nerve injury in rat.
abstract: Wallerian degeneration (WD) remains an important research topic. Many genes are differentially expressed during the process of WD, but the precise mechanisms responsible for these differentiations are not completely understood. In this study, we used microarrays to analyze the expression changes of the distal nerve stump at 0, 1, 4, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after sciatic nerve injury in rats. The data revealed 6 076 differentially-expressed genes, with 23 types of expression, specifically enriched in genes associated with nerve development and axonogenesis, cytokine biosynthesis, cell differentiation, cytokine/chemokine production, neuron differentiation, cytokinesis, phosphorylation and axon regeneration. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis gave findings related mainly to the MAPK signaling pathway, the Jak-STAT signaling pathway, the cell cycle, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, the p53 signaling pathway and the Wnt signaling pathway. Some key factors were NGF, MAG, CNTF, CTNNA2, p53, JAK2, PLCB1, STAT3, BDNF, PRKC, collagen II, FGF, THBS4, TNC and c-Src, which were further validated by real-time quantitative PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the functional analysis of differentially-expressed genes in WD and may shed light on the molecular mechanisms of nerve degeneration and regeneration.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong, 226019, China.
authors.forename: Dengbing
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Meiyuan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Dingding
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Shibi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Xiaosong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D008297:Male; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000235:genetics; D059348:Peripheral Nerve Injuries / Q000235:genetics*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020426:Sciatic Neuropathy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics; D014855:Wallerian Degeneration / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism