Mouse sinoatrial node transcriptome

RNA Sequencing of Mouse Sinoatrial Node Reveals an Upstream Regulatory Role for Islet-1 in Cardiac Pacemaker Cells Rationale: Treatment of sinus node disease with regenerative or cell-based therapies will require a detailed understanding of gene regulatory networks in cardiac pacemaker cells (PCs). Objective: To characterize the transcriptome of PCs using RNA sequencing, and to identify transcriptional networks responsible for PC gene expression. Methods and Results: We used laser capture micro-dissection (LCM) on a sinus node reporter mouse line to isolate RNA from PCs for RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). Differential expression and network analysis identified novel SAN-enriched genes, and predicted that the transcription factor Islet-1 (Isl1) is active in developing pacemaker cells. RNA-Seq on SAN tissue lacking Isl1 established that Isl1 is an important transcriptional regulator within the developing SAN. Conclusions: (1) The PC transcriptome diverges sharply from other cardiomyocytes; (2) Isl1 is a positive transcriptional regulator of the PC gene expression program. There are 25 RNA-Sequencing Samples