Effect of mild respiratory SARS-CoV-2 infection on brainstem endothelial transcriptome

To investigate the transcriptional response of brainstem endothelial cells to mild respiratory infection, 12-month-old male C57Bl/6 mice were intranasally inoculated with SARS-CoV-2 MA10 strain or with saline. Overall design: Brainstem were digested with papain, microvessels were isolated by differential centrifugation through a BSA gradient, microvessel fragments were digested to single cells with Collagenase, myelin was depleted, and CD31-positive selection beads were used three sequential times to isolate brainstem endothelial cells. Bulk RNA was used for sequencing. Comparative gene expression profiling analysis of bulk RNA-seq data for brainstem endothelial cells from 12-month-old and 2-month-old male C57Bl/6J mice at 4 days after inoculation with SARS-CoV-2 MA10 or vehicle.