RNA-sequencing of single whole cells and nuclei from mouse dentate granule cells

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 re-capitulates 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 pseudo-temporal 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. Overall design: Examination of 1) 82 whole-cell (WC) dentate granule cells from a PTZ- or saline-treated mouse, and 2) 23 single-nuclei (SN) from dentate granule cells of a homecage (HC) mouse or 96 nuclei from a mouse exposed to a novel environment (NE)

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Lacar B, Linker SB, Jaeger BN, Krishnaswami SR, Barron JJ, Kelder MJE, Parylak SL, Paquola ACM, Venepally P, Novotny M, O'Connor C, Fitzpatrick C, Erwin JA, Hsu JY, Husband D, McConnell MJ, Lasken R, Gage FH