Differential expression of elastin assembly genes in patients with Stanford Type A aortic dissection using microarray analysis

Thoracic aortic dissection is a catastrophic separation of the layers within the aortic wall. The freshly torn aorta is severely weakened and may rupture, which results in death. The traditional treatment of this life-threatening disease usually requires surgery, but the morbidity and mortality remain unsatisfactory. Besides heritable connective tissue diseases and hypertension, the majority of aortic dissections develop without any recognizable reason. Dysregulated extracellular matrix protein like elastin and collagen characterized the thoracic aortic dissection, but still little is known about the genetics of the disease. With the development of the Affymetrix cDNA array platform that can simultaneously analyze the expression level of over 47,000 transcripts per tissue, comparison of altered gene expression patterns in diseased and nondiseased tissue were warranted in the present study, and we can hope to have a better understanding of the pathogenesis of this aortic disorder. The inhibition of the aberrant expression of the matrix gene and the related proteinases may also open a new avenue for preventing aortic dissection.