Gene expression profile of vascular ischemia-reperfusion injury in rhesus monkeys

• We firstly built a hind limb I/R injury model of rhesus monkeys.
• We reported the global gene expression changes after I/R injury using gene microarray.
• Inflammation plays a central role in the early stage of I/R injury in blood vessels.

The vascular system particularly endothelium is sensitive to ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury, which is a big challenge in surgical practices and many vascular disorders. In the present study, we reported the global gene expression changes in a 2-h ischemia and 4-h reperfusion injury induced in the hind limb vessels of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) using microarray technique. Results: The histological results showed abnormal morphology of endothelial cells after 2-h ischemia and the hematological detection found slightly extension of coagulation time after I/R treatment. Furthermore, we found distinct alterations in gene expression patterns during I/R process. These identified genes are mostly involved in inflammation, immune response, apoptosis, and cell stress signaling pathways. The significantly up-regulated genes included IL-6, regulator of G-protein signaling 8, selectin E, and metallothionein 2A, et al. Whist, the robustly down-regulated genes included NECAP endocytosis associated 2, transglutaminase 2, and fibronectin 1, et al. Conclusion: Our results indicate that inflammation, primarily characterized by gene expression changes of cytokines and chemokines is the most important event in the early stage of I/R injury in blood vessels.