Project description:Pathway-specific striatal transcripts were identified in a neuroanatomically defined manner using retrograde tracing, laser capture micodissection and whole-transcriptome sequencing.
Project description:Purpose:This work aimed to identify the genetic profiles of piriform projection neurons and characterize their spatial organization within the piriform cortex. Methods: We microdissected the three layers of pirifrom cortex by laser capture (LMD) and performed RNA deep sequencing in order to identify layer-specific molecular markers, we then validated these data by using RNA in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry.We next performed anterograde neural tracing experiments to identify piriform target regions, and retrograde neural tracing experiments to analyze how piriform projection neurons are organized within piriform cortex.We then combined the analysis of patterns of gene expression with retrograde tracing experiments to identify molecular signatures of the different subclasses of piriform projecting neurons. Results:We show that layers and sub-layers of the piriform cortex can be discriminated by gene expression patterns in adult piriform cortex. We observe that neurons projecting to distinct target areas are localized in distinct layers and express specific genes. We demonstrate that these molecular signatures of piriform projection neurons are maintained in reeler mice, in which cortical lamination is lost and neural positioning is scrambled, suggesting that piriform output connectivity strictly depends on the molecular programm, rather than a proper lamination of the cortex. Conclusion:These results provide important insights into the principles underling the piriform connectivity.
Project description:We developed a spatially-tracked single neuron transcriptomics map of an intrinsic cardiac ganglion - the right atrial ganglionic plexus (RAGP) that is a critical mediator of vagal control of the sinoatrial node (SAN) activity. We developed a 3D representation of RAGP with extensive mapping of neurons and used neuronal tracing to identify the spatial distribution of the subset of neurons that project to the SAN. RNAseq of laser capture microdissected neurons revealed a distinct composition of RAGP neurons compared to CNS neuronal subtypes. High-throughput qPCR of hundreds of laser capture microdissected single neurons led to a surprising finding that cholinergic and catecholaminergic neuronal markers Th and Chat were correlated, suggesting multipotential phenotypes that can drive neuroplasticity within RAGP. Interestingly, no single gene or module was an exclusive marker of RAGP neuronal connectivity to SAN. Neuropeptide-receptor coexpression analysis revealed a combinatorial paracrine neuromodulatory network within RAGP, informing follow-on studies on the vagal control of RAGP to regulate cardiac function in health and disease.
Project description:In this study we used microarray analysis to reveal the gene expression profile of the hippocampal CA1 subregion, which was laser-capture microdissected one week after kainic acid (KA)-induced status epilepticus (SE) in postnatal day 21 (P21) rats. These rats are developmentally roughly comparable to juvenile children, and KA-induced SE leads to selective damage of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons in this age group while saving neurons of the other sub-regions. We searched for alterations in the gene expression pattern during the early epileptogenetic phase, i.e. one week after SE, and compared the results with those of age-matched control rats. To detect specifically changes in the CA1 pyramidal neurons, we used the laser-capture microdissection technique that allows the precise isolation of the region of interest. The RNA of this region was isolated, amplified, and labeled, and then hybridized to Illumina RatRef-12 Expression BeadChip Arrays. The gene expression data generated from the microarray was first normalized by the guantile normalization method, and then filtered by using the empirical Bayes method, and the contrasts were created by using the Limma R/Bioconductor. Finally, the data was clustered by using the non-hierarchical K-means clustering for genes, and the pathway analysis was performed by âGene set testâ, which analyzes the statistical significance of a set of genes simultaneously ranked by p-value and generates the KEGG categories (Chipster manual). The Illumina microarray analysis with the Chipster software v1.1.0 (http://chipster.csc.fi; CSC, Espoo, Finland) generated a total of 1592 differently expressed genes in the CA1 subregion of KA-treated rats compared to control rats. Using the K-means method the genes were classified in 10 different clusters. The subsequent KEGG-test for the probe set over-representation analysis revealed the 15 significantly (p<0.05) changed KEGG-pathways in response to KA-treatment, e.g. oxidative phosphorylation (26 genes changed), and long-term potentiation (LTP; 18 genes changed). Some of the differentially expressed genes were also identified to be involved in Ca2+ homeostasis, gliosis, inflammation, and GABAergic transmission.
Project description:We used total RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) to analyze ALS MN-specific gene-expression signatures in laser capture microdissected motor neurons from post-mortem lumbar spinal cords.
Project description:Dlx1 and Rgs5 in the Ductus Arteriosus: Vessel-specific Genes Identified by Transcriptional Profiling of Laser-capture Microdissected Endothelial and Smooth Muscle Cells
Project description:To investigate whether male MPN- and VMHvl-projecting neurons in posterior amygdala have distinct transcriptional profiles, we conducted RNAseq onto these subpoplations that were microdissected by laser capture microdissection. Our results demonstrate that each subpoplations had largely distinct set of enriched genes.