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Cell Type-Specific Laser Capture Microdissection for Gene Expression Profiling in the Human Brain

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Laser Capture Microdissection

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1723))

Abstract

Cell type-specific laser microdissection technologies in combination with molecular techniques to determine gene expression profiles have become powerful tools to gain insight into the neurobiological basis of neural circuit disturbances in various neurologic or psychiatric diseases. To identify specific cell populations in human postmortem brain tissue, one can use the inherent properties of the cells, such as pigmentation and morphology or their structural composition through immunohistochemistry (IHC). Here, we describe the isolation of homogeneous neurons and oligodendrocytes and the extraction of high-quality RNA from these cells in human postmortem brain using a combination of rapid IHC, Nissl staining, or simple morphology with Laser Capture Microdissection (LCM), or Laser Microdissection (LMD).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Protocol originally published in JoVE: Pietersen CY, Lim MP, Woo TUW (2009) [25]. Obtaining High Quality RNA from Single Cell Populations in Human Postmortem Brain Tissue. JoVE. http://www.jove.com/index/details.stp?id=1444, doi: 10.3791/1444.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by NIH grants MH080272 and MH076060 (Woo) and R21NS067335 (Sonntag).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Cellular Neuropathology, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA, USA

    Sarah A. Mauney & Tsung-Ung W. Woo

  2. Basic Neuroscience Division, Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA, USA

    Sarah A. Mauney, Tsung-Ung W. Woo & Kai C. Sonntag

Authors
  1. Sarah A. Mauney
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  2. Tsung-Ung W. Woo
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  3. Kai C. Sonntag
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Tsung-Ung W. Woo or Kai C. Sonntag .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom

    Graeme I. Murray

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Mauney, S.A., Woo, TU.W., Sonntag, K.C. (2018). Cell Type-Specific Laser Capture Microdissection for Gene Expression Profiling in the Human Brain. In: Murray, G. (eds) Laser Capture Microdissection. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1723. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7558-7_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7558-7_11

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-7557-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-7558-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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