RNA-seq of human and mouse brain microvessels isolated by laser capture microdissection and matched whole brain samples

Brain microvessels form the blood-brain barrier, and are dysfunctional in several neurological disorders. Brain microvessels are formed by brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) and pericytes, and the molecular constituents of these cell types remain incompletely characterized, especially in humans. To improve molecular knowledge of these cell types and identify species differences in gene expression, we performed RNA-sequencing on brain microvessels isolated from human and mouse tissue samples using laser capture microdissection. We also performed RNA-sequencing of matched whole brain samples to identify genes with microvessel-enriched expression. A total of 12 samples were analyzed: 6 mouse samples and 6 human samples. For each species, there are 3 biological replicates of brain microvessels isolated by laser capture microdissection, and 3 matched whole brain controls.