The Whole Genome Expression Analysis using Two Microarray Technologies to Identify Gene Networks That Mediate the Myocardial Phenotype of CD36 Deficiency

We have previously shown that CD36 is a membrane protein that facilitates long chain fatty acid (FA) transport by muscle tissues. We also documented the significant impact of muscle CD36 expression on heart function, skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity as well as on overall metabolism. To identify a comprehensive set of genes that are differentially regulated by CD36 expression in the heart, we used two microarray technologies (Affymetrix and Agilent) to compare gene expression in heart tissues from CD36 KnocK-Out (KO-CD36) versus wild type (WT-CD36) mice. The obtained results using the two technologies were similar with around 35 genes differentially expressed using both technologies. Absence of CD36 led to down-regulation of the expression of three groups of genes involved in pathways of FA metabolism, angiogenesis/apoptosis and structure. These data are consistent with the fact that the CD36 protein binds FA and thrombospondin 1 invoved respectively in lipid metabolism and anti-angiogenic activities. In conclusion, our findings led to validate our data analysis workflow and identify specific pathways, possibly underlying the phenotypic abnormalities in CD36 Knock -Out hearts.