Project description:The generation of cellular identity and diversity within the developing spinal cord is critically dependent on networks of gene expression controlled by transcription factors, such as Nuclear Factor One X (NFIX). NFIX has been identified as an important factor in promoting astrocyte formation during embryonic mouse spinal cord development. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the transcriptional landscape controlled by NFIX within the developing spinal cord, here we performed microarray analysis on E14.5 wild-type and Nfix-/- mouse spinal cords, the age at which the expression of NFIX by neural progenitor cells lining the spinal central canal is strongest.
Project description:To characterize the diversity of cholinergic neurons in the spinal cord, we performed single-nucleus RNA sequencing on cholinergic-enriched pools of nuclei from the adult mouse.
Project description:We developed a targeted single nucleus RNA sequencing approach to enrich and transcriptomically characterize cholinergic neurons of the adult mouse spinal cord. Our data expose markers for known classes of cholinergic neurons and their extremely rich diversity. Visceral/preganglionic motor neurons could be divided into more than a dozen transcriptomic classes with anatomically restricted localization along the spinal cord. The complexity of the skeletal motor neurons was also reflected in our analysis with alpha, gamma, and a third subtype clearly distinguished. We further identified previously unrecognized subtypes of cholinergic interneurons.
Project description:Adult zebrafish have the ability to recover from spinal cord injury and exhibit re-growth of descending axons from the brainstem to the spinal cord. We performed gene expression analysis using microarray to find damage-induced genes after spinal cord injury, which shows that Sox11b mRNA is up-regulated at 11 days after injury. However, the functional relevance of Sox11b for regeneration is not known. Here, we report that the up-regulation of Sox11b mRNA after spinal cord injury is mainly localized in ependymal cells lining the central canal and in newly differentiating neuronal precursors or immature neurons. Using an in vivo morpholino-based gene knockout approach, we demonstrate that Sox11b is essential for locomotor recovery after spinal cord injury. In the injured spinal cord, expression of the neural stem cell associated gene, Nestin, and the proneural gene Ascl1a (Mash1a), which are involved in the self-renewal and cell fate specification of endogenous neural stem cells, respectively, is regulated by Sox11b. Our data indicate that Sox11b promotes neuronal determination of endogenous stem cells and regenerative neurogenesis after spinal cord injury in the adult zebrafish. Enhancing Sox11b expression to promote proliferation and neurogenic determination of endogenous neural stem cells after injury may be a promising strategy in restorative therapy after spinal cord injury in mammals. Spinal cord injury or control sham injury was performed on adult zebrafish. After 4, 12, or 264 hrs, a 5 mm segment of spinal cord was dissected and processed (as a pool from 5 animals) in three replicate groups for each time point and treatment.
Project description:Transcriptome analysis of spinal cord microglia and total spinal cord from Lewis rats intratracheally treated with PBS, neomycin or vancomycin.
Project description:Label-free mass spectrometry-based quantitative proteomics was applied to a larval zebrafish spinal cord injury model, which allows axon regeneration and functional recovery within two days (days post lesion; dpl) after a spinal cord transection in 3 day-old larvae (dpf). Proteomic profiling of the lesion site was performed at 1 dpl and 2 dpl as well as corresponding age-matched unlesioned control tissue (4 dpf as control for 1 dpl; 5 dpf as control for 2 dpl).
Project description:The goals of this study are to analyze NGS-derived spinal cord transcriptome profiling (RNA-seq) of wild type (WT) and Olig1-Cre mediated Secisbp2l Exon3 deletion (cKO) at postnatal day 7 (P7). Spinal cord RNA profiles were generated by deep sequencing, using Illumina Hiseq 2500. The sequence reads that passed quality filters were analyzed at the transcript isoform level with HISAT2 and RSeQC.