Regional spinal cord gene expression profiling of adult astrocytes

There is emerging evidence that astrocytes exhibit molecular and cellular heterogeneity; however, whether distinct subpopulations perform these diverse roles remains poorly defined. Previous studies used Aldhl1l1 as a bulk astrocyte marker. Here we show that the Lunatic Fringe-GFP (Lfng-GFP) bacteria artificial chromosome mouse line specifically labels astrocyte populations within lamina III and IV of the dorsal spinal cord. We compared the transcriptional profile of Lfng-GFP+ astrocytes with Aldh1l1-GFP astrocytes to identify what is unique about the astrocyte population. Overall design: FAC sorted astrocytes from the spinal cord were collected from Lfng-GFP and Aldh1l1-GFP mouse.