RNAseq analysis of retinal microglia during early diabetes

We report the use of RNAseq to identify gene changes in isolated retinal microglia after 4 weeks of STZ-induced diabetes. At this early time point in diabetes induction, single retinal cell suspensions were sorted via FACS using a Cd11b-FITC conjugate. RNA was isolated and preamplified using the SMARTSeq v4 low RNA input kit. After library preparation a 50bp single end read was performed at a depth of 19-34 million reads per sample using the Illumina HiSeq. Constructs were mapped to the rat genome and differential expression calculated between the STZ-treated and control groups.