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. FAC sorted astrocytes from the spinal cord were collected from Lfng-GFP and Aldh1l1-GFP mouse.

越来越多的证据表明，星形胶质细胞（astrocytes）存在分子与细胞层面的异质性；然而，其不同亚群是否执行这些多样化的功能，目前仍尚未明确。既往研究曾将醛脱氢酶1L1（Aldh1l1）用作整体星形胶质细胞的标记物。本研究证实，锯齿状边缘-绿色荧光蛋白（Lunatic Fringe-GFP，简称Lfng-GFP）细菌人工染色体（bacteria artificial chromosome, BAC）小鼠品系，可特异性标记背侧脊髓Ⅲ、Ⅳ层内的星形胶质细胞群体。本研究对Lfng-GFP阳性星形胶质细胞与Aldh1l1-GFP星形胶质细胞的转录谱进行了比较分析，以明确该星形胶质细胞群体的独特特征。研究人员从Lfng-GFP及Aldh1l1-GFP小鼠的脊髓中，收集了经荧光激活细胞分选（FAC）得到的星形胶质细胞。