Transcription profiling by array of mouse colonic epithelial cells after treatment with sodium butyrate

We performed global scale microarray analysis to identify detailed mechanisms by which sodium butyrate (SB) induce cell growth arrest and differentiation of colonic epithelial cells by using an Affymetrix GeneChip system. Colonic epithelial MCE301 cells used in this study were derived from transgenic mice harboring a tsSV40 large T-antigen. Arrested cell growth and a differentiated phenotype accompanying elevations of alkaline phosphatase activity and histone acetylation were observed in the cells treated with 2 mM SB. Of the 22,690 probe sets analyzed, approximately 2,000 genes were down- and up-regulated by a factor of 2.0 or greater in the cells treated with SB. MCE301 cells were treated with SB for 0, 6, 12 and 24 h. Total RNA samples were prepared from the cells. Gene expression was analyzed by a GeneChip® system with the Mouse Expression Array 430A which was spotted with 22,690 probe sets. Sample preparation for array hybridization was carried out as described in the manufacture’s instructions.