Gene expression in groups of sympathetic neurons from an NPY reporter mouse

In paravertebral sympathetic ganglia, 50 to 70% of the neurons selectively express neuropeptide Y (NPY). We sought to identify other genes that are differentially expressed by NPY-positive and NPY-negative neurons. This study used NPY reporter mice (B6.FVB-Tg(Npy-hrGFP)1Lowl/J) (Jackson Laboratory #006417) that were bred as hemizygotes with C57BL/6 mice. Superior cervical ganglia (SCG) from 4- and 7-month-old male mice were dissociated and manually sorted into groups of 10 cells by Renilla Green Fluorescent Protein expression. RNA was amplified and run on Illumina BeadChips.