Discovering altered genomic expression patterns in heart: transcriptome determination by serial analysis of gene expression

The development of cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure involve fu nctional changes that are beneficial short-term, but may be fatal long-term . Current therapeutic approaches are tailored to limit progression of a dis ease and to maintain quality of life. At a molecular level, these disease p rocesses involve quantitative and qualitative changes in gene expression. A lthough some changes in mRNA abundance may not have direct protein correlat es, analysis of all the mRNAs present in a cell population (the cells trans criptome) has become a focal point of genomic research. The aim is to provi de information about the dynamics of total genome expression in response to environmental changes and point to candidate genes responsible for the cas cade of events that result in a disease state. One way of performing these analyses utilizes the technique of Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE ). This method evaluates thousands of expressed transcripts both quantitati vely and qualitatively in a single assay. In the first of two reviews on tr anscriptome analysis, we describe the current state of genomic research for determination of the transcriptome by Serial Analysis of Gene Expression, present the first limited SAGE analysis of rodent heart gene expression, an d discuss how results generated with this approach can be applied to the st udy and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Published by Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.