Next-generation sequencing analysis of gene regulation in the rat model of retinopathy of prematurity

Abstract

Purpose To identify the genes, biochemical signaling pathways and biological themes involved in the pathogenesis of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Methods Next-generation sequencing (NGS) was performed on the RNA transcriptome of rats with the Penn et al. (1994) oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) model of ROP at the height of vascular abnormality, postnatal day (P) 19, and normalized to age-matched, room-air-reared littermate controls. Eight custom developed pathways with potential relevance to known ROP sequelae were evaluated for significant regulation in ROP: The three major Wnt signaling pathways, canonical, planar cell polarity (PCP), and Wnt/Ca2+, two signaling pathways mediated by the Rho GTPases RhoA and Cdc42, which are respectively thought to intersect with canonical and noncanonical Wnt signaling, nitric oxide signaling pathways mediated by two nitrox oxide synthase (NOS) enzymes, neuronal (nNOS) and endothelial (eNOS), and the retinoic acid (RA) signaling pathway. Regulation of other biological pathways and themes were detected by gene ontology using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and the NIH's Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID)'s GO terms databases. Results Canonical Wnt signaling was found to be regulated, but the non-canonical PCP and Wnt/Ca2+ pathways were not. Nitric oxide (NO) signaling, as measured by the activation of nNOS eNOS, was also regulated, as was RA signaling. Biological themes related to protein translation (ribosomes), neural signaling, inflammation and immunity, cell cycle and cell death, were (among others) highly regulated in ROP rats. Conclusions These several genes and pathways identified by NGS might provide novel targets for intervention in ROP.