title: Analysis of differentially expressed genes in cold-exposed mice to investigate the potential causes of cold-induced hypertension.
abstract: Cold exposure is considered to be an important contributing factor to the high morbidity of hypertension. In order to elucidate the cause and mechanism of cold-induced hypertension (CIH), gene expression analysis was performed on microarray data for two groups of cold-exposed mice (4°C for 1 week and 4°C for 5 weeks, three replicates per group) and their respective control groups maintained at 30°C. Analysis results indicated that the differentially expressed genes with the most significance were associated with adaptive thermogenesis, fatty acid metabolism and energy metabolism. The expected marked increase in metabolism during cold exposure caused tissue hypoxia. Genes involved in the hypoxia-inducible factor signaling pathway were activated. In addition, genes associated with oxidative stress were significantly upregulated, including superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) and epoxide hydrolase 2 (EPHX2). The majority of genes involved in inflammation-associated pathways were shown to be downregulated in the 4°C 5-week group. Therefore, the results of the present study indicate that tissue hypoxia and increased oxidative stress may play important roles in the process of CIH.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, 451 Hospital of PLA, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710054, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Buxiong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tuo
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, 451 Hospital of PLA, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710054, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Chaomin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, 451 Hospital of PLA, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710054, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lijing
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, 451 Hospital of PLA, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710054, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Mingxia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, 451 Hospital of PLA, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710054, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, 451 Hospital of PLA, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710054, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaolan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, 451 Hospital of PLA, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710054, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: cold exposure; gene expression; hypertension; hypoxia; oxidative stress; protein-protein interaction network