AIM: To globally compare the gene expression profiles during the capillary morphogenesis of human microvascular endothelial cells (HMVECs) in an in vitro angiogenesis system with affymetrix oligonucleotide array.METHODS: A microcarrier-based in vitro angiogenesis system was developed, in which ECs migrated into the matrix,proliferated, and formed capillary sprouts. The sprouts elongated, branched and formed networks. The total RNA samples from the HMVECs at the selected time points (0.5,24, and 72 h) during the capillary morphogenesis were used for microarray analyses, and the data were processed with the softwares provided by the manufacturers. The expression patterns of some genes were validated and confirmed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. The regulated genes were grouped based on their molecular functions and expression patterns, and among them the expression of chemokines and chemokine receptors was specially examined and their functional implications were analyzed.RESULTS: A total of 1 961 genes were up- or downregulated two-folds or above, and among them, 468 genes were up- or down-regulated three-folds or above. The regulated genes could be grouped into categories based on their molecular functions, and were also clustered into six groups based on their patterns of expression. As for chemokines and chemokine receptors, CXCL1/GRO-α,CXCL2/GRO-β, CXCLS/ENA-78, CXCL6/GCP2, IL-8/CXCL8,CXCL12/SDF-1, CXCL9/Mig, CXC11/ITAC, CX3CL1/fractalkine,CCL2/MCP-1, CCL3, CCLS/RANTES, CCL7, CCL15, CCL21,CCL23, CCL28, and CCR1, CCR9, CXCR4 were identified.Moreover, these genes demonstrated different changing patterns during the capillary morphogenesis, which implied that they might have different roles in the sequential process. Among the chemokines identified, CCL2/MCP-1,CCL5/RANTES and CX3CL1 were specially up-regulated at the 24-h time point when the sprouting characterized the morphological change. It was thus suggested that they might exert crucial roles at the early stage of angiogenesis.CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates a global profile of gene expression during endothelial capillary morphogenesis, and the results provide us much information about the molecular mechanisms of angiogenesis, with which further evaluation of individual genes can be conducted.