RNA-seq

RNA-seq profiles transcriptional dynamics to analyze gene expression associated with peripheral neuro-immune interactions.

Key Features:

• Cell-Type Specific Analysis: Employs cell-type–specific RNA sequencing to dissect interactions among neurons, macrophages, and Schwann cells.
• Integration with Flow Cytometry: Integrates RNA-seq data with flow cytometry to correlate gene expression profiles with cellular phenotypes.
• Persistent Inflammatory Response Tracking: Identifies and tracks persistent inflammatory responses, including increased monocytes and macrophages up to 3½ months post-injury in a mouse model of neuropathic pain.
• Comparative Dataset Analysis: Enables comparison and collation of RNA-seq datasets from naïve versus nerve injury states for cross-dataset transcriptional analysis.

Scientific Applications:

• Characterization of Immune Responses: Characterizes immune responses in models of neuropathic pain to elucidate the persistence and nature of post-injury inflammation.
• Reevaluation of Pain Categorization: Provides transcriptional evidence that challenges strict inflammatory versus neuropathic pain categorizations and supports more integrated mechanistic frameworks.
• Comparative Analysis with Published Datasets: Facilitates comparative analyses across published RNA-seq datasets to identify state-specific transcriptional changes between naïve and nerve injury conditions.

Methodology:

Uses RNA-seq to capture gene expression profiles from specific cell types involved in neuro-immune interactions and integrates those data with flow cytometry results.