ABSTRACT: We used DNA microarrays representing ~30,000 human genes to analyze gene expression in the cornea, lens, iris, ciliary body, retina, and optic nerve. Eight whole globes (G1-G8) were harvested from autopsy donors (age range=30-85 years-old) within 24 hours of death, and the tissues were immediately stored at 4◦ C in RNAlater (Ambion). Four of the globes were from female donors (G3, G6-8) and four were from male donors (G1, 2, 4, 5). Globes 4 and 5 were harvested as a set from a single donor, as were globes 6 and 7. No ophthalmologic clinical records were available for any of the globes at the time of harvest. Seven of the globes (G1-G7) were dissected into the following components: cornea, lens, iris, ciliary body, retina, and optic nerve, while only retinal tissue was available from G8. The maculas and the peripheral retinal tissues were further dissected from several of the retinal samples. The macula was defined as the visible xanthophyll-containing tissue temporal to the optic nerve, which encompassed an approximate area of 4 mm2. For comparison purposes, three post-mortem brain specimens were analyzed. Only those tissues that yielded adequate amounts of RNA were processed on the arrays. An organism part comparison experiment design type compares tissues, regions, organs within or between organisms. Differential gene expression in anatomical compartments of the human eye. Diehn et al. Genome Biology 2005, 6:R74 Keywords: organism_part_comparison_design
