Gene expression profiles of E13.5 developing podocyte in the developing kidney isolated from MafB-GFP transgenic mice using FACS on 430 2.0 Array chip. (GUDMAP Series ID: 27)

The long term objective is to create an encyclopedia of the expression levels of all genes in multiple components of the developing kidney. The central thesis is straightforward. The combination of fluorescent activated cell sorting (FACS) plus microarray analysis offers a powerful, efficient and effective method for the creation of a global gene expression atlas of the developing kidney. Microarrays with essentially complete genome coverage can be used to quantitate expression levels of every gene in FACS isolated components of the developing kidney. The ensuing rapid read-out provides an expression atlas that is more sensitive, more economical and more complete than would be possible by in situ hybridizations alone. At E13.5 we isolated developing cells of the podocyte using Mafb transgenic mice and fluorescent activated cell sorting (FACS) and then defined the gene expression profiles with microarrays.