This study aimed to provide the foundation for an integrative approach to the identification of the mechanisms underlying the response to infection with Trypanosoma congolense, and to identify pathways that have previously been overlooked. We undertook a large-scale gene expression analysis study comparing susceptible A/J and more tolerant C57BL/6 mice. In an initial time course experiment, we monitored the development of parasitaemia and anaemia in every individual. Based on the kinetics of disease progression, we extracted total RNA from liver at days 0, 4, 7, 10 and 17 post infection and performed a microarray analysis. We identified 64 genes that were differentially expressed in the two strains in non-infected animals, of which nine genes remained largely unaffected by the disease. Gene expression profiling at stages of low, peak, clearance and recurrence of parasitaemia suggest that susceptibility is associated with high expression of genes coding for chemokines (e.g. Ccl24, Ccl27 and Cxcl13), complement components (C1q and C3) and interferon receptor alpha (Ifnar1). Additionally, susceptible A/J mice expressed higher levels of some potassium channel genes. In contrast, messenger RNA levels of a few immune response, metabolism and protease genes (e.g. Prss7 and Mmp13) were higher in the tolerant C57BL/6 strain as compared to A/J.

中文翻译：

---

非洲锥虫病小鼠模型中的基因表达谱分析。

本研究旨在为确定刚果锥虫感染反应机制的综合方法奠定基础，并确定以前被忽视的途径。我们进行了一项大规模基因表达分析研究，比较易感 A/J 和更耐受的 C57BL/6 小鼠。在最初的时间进程实验中，我们监测了每个人的寄生虫血症和贫血的发展。基于疾病进展的动力学，我们在感染后第 0、4、7、10 和 17 天从肝脏中提取了总 RNA，并进行了微阵列分析。我们确定了 64 个基因，这些基因在未感染动物的两种品系中表达差异，其中 9 个基因基本未受疾病影响。低、峰值阶段的基因表达谱分析，寄生虫血症的清除和复发表明，易感性与编码趋化因子（例如 Ccl24、Ccl27 和 Cxcl13）、补体成分（C1q 和 C3）和干扰素受体 α (Ifnar1) 的基因的高表达有关。此外，易感 A/J 小鼠表达了更高水平的某些钾通道基因。相比之下，与 A/J 相比，耐受性 C57BL/6 菌株中一些免疫反应、代谢和蛋白酶基因（例如 Prss7 和 Mmp13）的信使 RNA 水平更高。