Transcriptional Profiling of Mouse Uterus at Pre-implantation Stage under VEGF Repression

In this study, a genetically repressed VEGF mouse model was used to analyze uterus transcriptome at G2.5 (gestation day 2.5) by Solexa/ Illumina’s digital gene expression (DGE) system. 831 uterus-specific and 2398 VEGF regulated genes were identified. Gene ontology analysis indicated that genes actively involved in uterus development were members of collagen biosynthesis, cell proliferation and cell apoptosis. Uterus-specific genes were enriched in activities of phosphatidyl inositol phosphate kinase, histone H3-K36 demethylation and protein acetylation. Among VEGF regulated genes, up-regulated genes were associated with RNA polymerase III activity while down-regulated genes were strongly associated with muscle development.Comparable numbers of antisense RNA transcripts were also identified. Expression levels of the antisense RNAs were found tightly correlated with their sense expression levels, an indication of possibly non-specific transcripts generated around the active promoters and enhancers. The antisense RNAs with exceptionally high or low expression levels and the antisense RNAs under VEGF regulation were also identified. These transcripts may be important candidates in regulation of uterus development. This study provides a global survey on genes and antisense transcripts regulated by VEGF in the pre-implantation stage. Results will contribute to the further studies of candidate genes and pathways in regulating implantation process and related diseases. Overall design: Uteri mRNA profiles of G2.5 VEGF-normal (Dox+) and VEGF-repression (Dox-) were generated by Solexa/ Illumina’s digital gene expression (DGE) system.

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Ji Y, Lu X, Zhong Q, Liu P, An Y, Zhang Y, Zhang S, Jia R, Tesfamariam IG, Kahsay AG, Zhang L, Zhu W, Zheng Y