Cortical astroglia transcriptomic dysregulation in the G93A SOD1 ALS mouse model

Astroglia are the most abundant cell type in the central nervous system. They play essential roles in the homeostasis of the CNS. Astroglia are extremely diverse. In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) astroglia in spinal cord undergo dramatic transcriptomic dysregulation. However there is little to no data on the effects that cortical astroglia undergo during ALS pathogenesis. In this study we isolated pure cortical astroglia in end stage ALS mice. We performed microarray analysis and discovered dysregulated pathways and genetic markers. This may serve as a database for scientists to understand the effects that abnormal cortical astroglia have on cortical motor neurons and overall ALS pathology. 4 ALS mice vs 3 Controls were used.