Molecular profiling of reticular gigantocellularis neurons

we used technique that allows the molecular characterization of particular neuronal subpopulations based on their neuroanatomical projections and the locations of their cell bodies. This 'retro-TRAP' (translating ribosome affinity purification from retrogradely labeled neurons) approach relies on viral injection into an anatomical area targeted by the neurons of interest, followed by selective precipitation of ribosomes from retrogradely labeled cell bodies, and subsequent RNAseq analysis. Overall design: By comparing the mRNAs enriched in the NGC neurons which are retrogradely labeled due to viral injection into central thalamus, to gene expression of non-labeled surrounding cells in NGC, and then performing a comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of these results, we were able to identify genes enriched in these cells. This procedure allowed us to highlight genes and pathways unique to these neurons with projections ascending to thalamus, as compared to other cells in reticular NucleusGigantocellularis.