Neuroglobin-Deficiency Exacerbates Hif1A and c-FOS Response, but Does Not Affect Neuronal Survival during Severe Hypoxia In Vivo

Neuroglobin (Ngb), a neuron-specific globin that binds oxygen in vitro, has been proposed to play a key role in neuronal survival following hypoxic and ischemic insults in the brain. Here we address whether Ngb is required for neuronal survival following acute and prolonged hypoxia in mice genetically Ngb-deficient (Ngb-null). Further, to evaluate whether the lack of Ngb has an effect on hypoxia-dependent gene regulation, we performed a transcriptome-wide analysis of differential gene expression using Affymetrix Mouse Gene 1.0 ST arrays. Differential expression was estimated by a novel data analysis approach, which applies non-parametric statistical inference directly to probe level measurements.