Alteration of gene expression profiles in rat lungs exposed to sulfur dioxide for long time

Affymetrix GeneChip (RAE230A) analysis was conducted to study the gene expression profiles in the lungs of Wistar rats exposed to SO₂ for long time (14 mg/m³, 1 h/day, for 30 days) . It was found that 173 genes, including 79 known genes and 94 novel genes, were up-regulated, and 85 genes, with 46 known and 39 novel ones, were down-regulated in the lungs of rats exposed to SO₂ compared with control group. It could be concluded that (1) the discriminating genes in lungs of rats exposed to SO₂ for long time included those involved in fatty acid metabolism, immune, inflammatory, oxidative stress, oncogene, tumor suppresser and extracellular matrix. The mechanism of low-dose and long-term exposure to SO₂ was very complex; (2) SO₂ exerted its effects by different mechanisms in vivo at high-dose and short-term inhalation and at low-dose and long-term inhalation; and (3) expression of many genes in rat lungs was changed by SO ₂, which implied that the gene expression was changeful and unstable, and there was a genome that its expression might be changed by SO₂. Tab 1, Ref 19.