Gene Expression Changes Induced by Polyphenols in Hippocampus of Mice as Determined by DNA Microarray Analysis

RAMIREZ MR, HENRIQUES AT, ZANCHIN NIT, ZUANAZZI JAS

Foz do Iguacu, Parana, Brasil

Congreso; XXXIX Annual Meeting of SBBQ; 2010

SBBq

The mechanism(s) by which fruits and vegetables favorably affect health is not well established. Employing a polyphenolic extract as a model, we evaluated the ability of an agnostic analytical approach based on global gene expression analysis using DNA microarrays to generate novel hypotheses regarding the mechanisms of action of potentially healthful fruit and fruit components. Adult Swiss mice were divided into two groups and fed a standard diet with or without a polyphenolic fruit extract incorporated at a level of 50-80 ug/ml into the drinking water. After eight months, mice supplemented with polyphenolic extract tended to gain less weight as compared to control mice, although these effects did not achieve statistical significance. Global gene expression analysis of the hippocampus using DNA microarrays identified a number of molecular pathways significantly affected by polyphenols administration. Genes differentially expressed in the treated group (fold change greater than ±1.3-fold; p<0.05), include genes encoding proteins involved in signal transduction, DNA binding, nerve system gene transcription, metabolic processes, response to oxidative stress, protein folding and degradation and a number of genes whose function has not yet been identified. These results suggest that global analysis of gene expression might be useful to elucidate the mechanisms of beneficial polyphenol action and may also help to identify potential targets for further investigation. Keywords: Polyphenols, DNA Microarray, SNC. Supported by: EMBRAPA, CNPq, FAPESP.