Gene expression profiles of hippocampal astrocytes in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy model mice

Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) with hippocampal sclerosis accounts for the majority of refractory epilepsies in adults. Recently, astrocytes have attracted attention as a novel target for anti-seizure medications. We purified hippocampal astrocyte RNA from intrahippocampal kainic acid-injected MTLE model mice using RiboTag AAV and investigated the gene expression profiles of astrocytes in the epileptic hippocampus. By comparing the astrocytic RNA sequence data with whole hippocampal RNA, we identified gene expression profiles that are specific to epileptic hippocampal astrocytes. Overall design: Three biological replicates were analyzed for each of the three conditions (AAV delivery only, AAV delivery + kainic acid injection, and AAV delivery + PBS injection). For collection of astrocytic RNA, AAV expressing EGFP-Rpl10a in astrocytes was injected into the right hippocampus of mice. 3~4 hippocampi were homogenized as one sample, and RNA was purified from a part of the clear supernatant as input sample. In addition, astrocytic translational RNA bound to ribosomes was immunoprecipitated by GFP tag and RNA was purified as IP sample.