Genes expression monitoring using cDNA microarray: Protocol and Application

The major issue in the post genome sequencing era is determination of gene expression patterns in variety of biological systems. A microarray system is a powerful technology for analyzing the expression profile of thousands of genes at one experiment. In this study, we constructed cDNA microarray which carries 2,304 cDNAS derived from oligo-capped mouse cDNA library. Using this hand-made microarray we determined gene expression in various biological systems. To determine tissue specific genes, we compared Nine genes were highly-expressed in adult mouse brain compared to kidney, liver, and skeletal muscle. Tissue distribution analysis using DNA microarray extracted 9 genes that were predominantly expressed in the brain. A database search showed that five of the 9 genes, MBP, SC1, HiAT3, S100 protein-beta, and SNAP25, were previously known to be expressed at high level in the brain and in the nervous system. One gene was highly sequence similar to rat S-Rex-s/human NSP-C, suggesting that the gene is a mouse homologue. The remaining three genes did not match to known genes in the GenBank/EMBL database, indicating that these are novel genes highly-expressed in the brain. Our DNA microarray was also used to detect differentiation specific genes, hormone dependent genes, and transcription-factor-induced genes. We conclude that DNA microarray is an excellent tool for identifying differentially expressed genes.