Differential gene expression profiling in genetic and multifactorial cardiovascular diseases

Gene expression profiling by microarray technologies has been successfully applied to study the transcriptional changes that occur in tissues such as heart, vessels and blood cells in different cardiovascular disorders. Such studies have been performed in human cardiovascular syndromes and in animal models with the aim of unraveling the complex molecular pictures underlying human pathophysiology. As already observed in cancer research, gene expression studies in humans may provide a finer molecular classification of patients with cardiovascular diseases and indicate new markers useful for prognostic and therapeutic strategies. In this paper, we present the findings obtained with microarray platforms to explore transcriptome alterations in cardiovascular diseases. To describe the potential of global expression profiling approach in this field, we have chosen to review the genomic findings obtained in some classic heart diseases with genetic transmission such as hyperthrophic cardiomyopathy and Fabry disease, together with findings obtained in common multifactorial cardiovascular disorders such as heart failure, atherosclerosis and infarction. Wherever feasible, we present the results obtained in patients together with those obtained in the corresponding animal and cellular models.