Apoptosis and Angiogenesis in Varicose Veins Using Gene Expression Profiling

Received 8 June 2009; received in revised form 6 November 2009; accepted 9 November 2009.

Little information is known about the genetic mechanisms of the pathophysiology of varicose veins (VVs). The purpose of this study was to systematically explore the biological pathways of genes speculatively participating in VVs by microarray bioinformatics analysis methods. The results showed that 32 genes were upregulated and 74 genes were downregulated in VVs. Gene Ontology and relevant bioinformatics tools indicated that the functional categories in which 106 genes (2.8%; 106/3800) of the most frequent alteration belonged to were apoptosis and angiogenesis. The analysis of 20 VV tissue specimens demonstrated that genes involved in angiogenesis and apoptosis pathways had high rates of overexpression. In addition, we discovered that genes involved in the angiogenesis pathways included HSP90, ILK, and TGFB1, and they played key roles in the development of VVs. This study demonstrated that the angiogenesis and apoptosis pathways may play an important role in the formation of VVs, but their molecular mechanisms need further investigation.

Key Words: angiogenesis , apoptosis , bioinformatics , microarray , varicose veins

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References

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a School of Medical and Health Science, Fooyin University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

b Department of Medical Research, Fooyin University Hospital, Pingtung, Taiwan

c Department of Plastic Surgery, Fooyin University Hospital, Pingtung, Taiwan

d Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fooyin University Hospital, Pingtung, Taiwan

e Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

f Department of Medical Research, Pingtung Christian Hospital, Pingtung, Taiwan

g Department of Anesthesiology, Pingtung Christian Hospital, Pingtung, Taiwan

Corresponding author. Department of Medical Research, Pingtung Christian Hospital, 60 Dalian Road, Pingtung 900, Taiwan

PII: S1877-8607(10)60005-7

doi:10.1016/S1877-8607(10)60005-7

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