| First Author | Lacar B | Year | 2016 |
| Journal | Nat Commun | Volume | 7 |
| Pages | 11022 | PubMed ID | 27090946 |
| Mgi Jnum | J:361313 | Mgi Id | MGI:6205605 |
| Doi | 10.1038/ncomms11022 | Citation | Lacar B, et al. (2016) Nuclear RNA-seq of single neurons reveals molecular signatures of activation. Nat Commun 7:11022 |
| abstractText | Single-cell sequencing methods have emerged as powerful tools for identification of heterogeneous cell types within defined brain regions. Application of single-cell techniques to study the transcriptome of activated neurons can offer insight into molecular dynamics associated with differential neuronal responses to a given experience. Through evaluation of common whole-cell and single-nuclei RNA-sequencing (snRNA-seq) methods, here we show that snRNA-seq faithfully recapitulates transcriptional patterns associated with experience-driven induction of activity, including immediate early genes (IEGs) such as Fos, Arc and Egr1. SnRNA-seq of mouse dentate granule cells reveals large-scale changes in the activated neuronal transcriptome after brief novel environment exposure, including induction of MAPK pathway genes. In addition, we observe a continuum of activation states, revealing a pseudotemporal pattern of activation from gene expression alone. In summary, snRNA-seq of activated neurons enables the examination of gene expression beyond IEGs, allowing for novel insights into neuronal activation patterns in vivo. |
