Evaluation of the post-stroke transcriptome of the mouse cortex using genome-wide RNA-seq

RNA-sequencing was conducted to profile the transcriptome of the post-ischemic mouse cortex at multiple reperfusion time-points. RNA was isolated from sham and middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO)-operated mice at different reperfusion time points (6 h, 12 h or 24 h; three independent biological replicates per group), converted into cDNA libraries, and used for Illumina deep sequencing on a NexSeq500 instrument. The sequencing reads that passed quality filters were analyzed at the transcript isoform level based on the Tuxedo software package. On average 40.6 million reads were obtained from each sample and genome mapping was on average 82.9% for all samples. We detected 20,748 genes and 56,586 isoforms in the sham group; 22,192 genes and 60,023 isoforms in the 6 h group; 21,771 genes and 59,539 isoforms in the 12 h group; and 21,576 genes and 59,020 isoforms in the 24 h group. Our study represents the first detailed analysis of post-stroke mouse cortex transcriptomes generated using RNA-sequencing technology. Overall design: Genome-wide transcriptomic profiles of healthy and post-ischemic mouse cortices at various reperfusion time-points (6 h, 12 h, or 24 h) were generated using Illumina sequencing.