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Gene Expression resources are available to researchers as publicly accessible images and data or at reduced cost to NIH-funded neuroscientists. These resources are co-funded by the NIH Neuroscience Blueprint.

 

GENSAT
NIH Microarray Consortium

GENSAT   

GENSAT (Gene Expression Nervous System Atlas) is a publicly available gene expression atlas of the developing and adult nervous system. The goal of the GENSAT project is to map the cellular locations of thousands of genes expressed in the brain and spinal cord throughout development and into adulthood. By understanding when and where specific genes are active, we can better understand how these genes function during development and how they may contribute to diseases of the nervous system.

GENSAT is an NINDS and NIH Neuroscience Blueprint funded contract to Rockefeller University (PI: Dr. Nathaniel Heintz) with a subcontract to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (PI: Dr. Thomas Curran, previously at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital). GENSAT entails the creation of transgenic mouse lines that express a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) harboring the gene of interest and an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) marker to reveal the pattern of gene expression. A prescreen component is included that utilizes traditional radiometric in situ hybridization (ISH) to obtain a broad picture of CNS expression of candidate genes. For both approaches, gene expression atlases have been created for mouse brain and spinal cord tissue at three developmental stages and in adulthood, and the images are freely available at the NINDS GENSAT BAC Transgenic Project (BAC images), the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Brain Gene Expression Map (ISH images) and the NCBI GENSAT Database (BAC and ISH images).

To date, over 600 BAC-EGFP reporter transgenic mouse lines have been generated to allow detailed mapping of gene expression at the cellular level and to highlight cellular morphology. More recently, the GENSAT project in collaboration with the NIMH Intramural Program (PI: Dr. Charles Gerfen) is generating BAC-Cre recombinase driver lines to serve as tools for cell-specific genetic manipulations in the CNS; 12 fully characterized BAC-Cre recombinase lines have been created to date, targeting selected neuronal or glial populations in the brain and spinal cord (see PMID: 17855595). Most of the BAC transgenic mouse lines are available for a small processing fee from the Mutant Mouse Regional Resource Center (MMRRC) [select major collection ‘GENSAT’ and mutation type ‘Transgenic(cre)’ or ‘Transgenic(BAC)’]. In addition, researchers can nominate genes for the GENSAT pipeline by contacting the NCBI helpdesk (info@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov).

Related Sites

NINDS GENSAT BAC Transgenic Project
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Brain Gene Expression Map
NCBI GENSAT Database
NIH Neuroscience Blueprint
Mutant Mouse Regional Resource Center (MMRRC)

Contact:
Dr. Laura Mamounas, Program Director, NINDS
Dr, Amelie K. Gubitz, Program Analyst, NINDS

NIH Neuroscience Microarray Consortium   

The NIH Neuroscience Microarray Consortium provides gene expression profiling and SNP genotyping services on a fee-for-service basis to investigators who are engaged in neuroscience research and have active funding from one of the 15 NIH Neuroscience Blueprint institutes and centers.

The NIH Neuroscience Blueprint established a consortium of four centers to provide NIH-funded neuroscience investigators with the opportunity to further their research through the use of microarray technologies. The microarray consortium provides investigators with expert advice and access to state-of-the-art technologies for gene expression (activity) profiling and SNP genotyping (identifying DNA sequence variations). All of the data generated by the consortium is made publicly available through a web database. The four centers in the consortium are located at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Phoenix, AZ, Yale University in New Haven, CT, and Duke University in Durham, NC. Several different technology platforms and laser-capture microdissection services are available through

Related Site
The NIH Neuroscience Blueprint
NIH Neuroscience Microarray Consortium

Contact:
Elizabeth Salomon, NIH Neuroscience Microarray Consortium Coordinator

Last updated September 24, 2007