Raw Gene Count Matrix of the Hypothalamic Paraventricular Nucleus in Pregnant Spontaneously Hypertensive and Wistar Rats.

This dataset contains the raw gene expression count matrix obtained via high-throughput bulk RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) in adult female rats. The study characterizes the transcriptomic adaptations within the PVN during the transition from the virgin state to late pregnancy across two different genetic backgrounds: normotensive Wistar rats and Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR). Experimental Groups: Wistar Virgin (Diestrus state) Wistar Late Pregnancy (Gestation Day 20) SHR Virgin (Diestrus state) SHR Late Pregnancy (Gestation Day 20) Methodology: Bilateral PVN tissue punches (1 mm diameter) were collected and lysed using QIAzol. Total RNA was extracted using the Direct-zol RNA MiniPrep kit. RNA libraries were prepared using the TruSeq Stranded mRNA Library Prep (Illumina) and sequenced on an Illumina NextSeq 500 platform (paired-end 2 x 75 bp), yielding >35 million reads per sample. Bioinformatics Pipeline: The raw FASTQ data was quality-trimmed using Trimmomatic (Phred quality score > 30) and aligned to the Rattus norvegicus reference genome (Rn7) using the STAR aligner. Gene-level counts were calculated via featureCounts. Differential expression was conducted using DESeq2 in R (v4.4.1). This dataset is associated with the manuscript: "Decoupling of Hypothalamic Neuroimmune and Metabolic Networks Underpins Autonomic Maladaptation and Cardiac Sympathetic Dominance in Pregnant Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats".