Profiling astrocyte transcriptional signatures in response to neurons and neuroactive compounds [RNA-seq]

The goal of the study is to profile molecular signature of astrocytes in response to neuronal contact and neuroactive chemicals. We performed RNA-seq on (1) mouse embryonic stem cell derived astrocytes (mES_astrocytes) from different time points of culture to determine transcriptomic changes as astrocytes mature over time in culture, (2) mES_astrocytes cocultured with human neurons to determine how neurons affect astrocyte gene expression and (3) mES_astrocytes cultured in presence of neuroactive chemicals (glutamate, gamma-aminobutyric acid, acetylcholine, noradrenaline, and serotonin) to determine transcriptomic changes induced by different types of neuronal signaling. mES_astrocytes were collected (1) in duplicate on day 7, day 14, day 21, and day 35 in culture, (2) in triplicate at selective timepoints day 21 and day 35, (3) in duplicate after co-culture with neurons at day 35, and (4) in triplicate after induction with each neuroactive chemical at day 35 for profiling using RNA-seq.