Age-mediated transcriptomic changes in adult mouse substantia nigra

Substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) is highly sensitive to normal aging and selectively degenerates in Parkinson's disease. Until now, molecular mechanisms behind SNpc aging have not been fully investigated using high throughput techniques. Here, aging-associated early changes in transcriptome of SNpc were investigated comparing late middle-aged (18 months old) to young (2 months old) mice. Three age groups of C57 wild type mice were used in microarray analysis: young (2 months old), middle aged (10 months old), and late-middle aged (18 months old) mice. Four replicates were included in each age group and each replicate was pooled from 4 mice (4 mice/replicate x 4 replicates x 3 age groups). Total RNA was isolated from SNpc for hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays.黑质致密部（Substantia nigra pars compacta, SNpc）对正常衰老高度敏感，且在帕金森病中发生选择性变性。截至目前，学界尚未通过高通量技术（high throughput techniques）全面解析SNpc衰老背后的分子机制。本研究以年轻（2月龄）与中年晚期（18月龄）小鼠为对照，探究SNpc转录组（transcriptome）的衰老相关早期变化。实验采用3个年龄组的C57野生型小鼠开展微阵列分析（microarray analysis）：年轻组（2月龄）、中年组（10月龄）及中年晚期组（18月龄）。每个年龄组设置4个生物学重复，每个重复由4只小鼠的组织混合制备（4只小鼠/重复 × 4重复 × 3年龄组）。从SNpc中分离总RNA（Total RNA），用于Affymetrix微阵列芯片杂交。