Serial analysis of gene expression in a microglial cell line

• Published in: Glia Vol. 28; no. 3; pp. 265 - 271
• Main Authors: Inoue, Haruhisa, Sawada, Makoto, Ryo, Akihide, Tanahashi, Hiroshi, Wakatsuki, Toru, Hada, Akiyuki, Kondoh, Nobuo, Nakagaki, Keiko, Takahashi, Keikichi, Suzumura, Akio, Yamamoto, Mikio, Tabira, Takeshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.12.1999; Wiley-Liss
• Subjects: adhesion molecule; Animals; Antigens, Surface - genetics; Biological and medical sciences; blood island; Cell Adhesion Molecules - genetics; Cell Line, Transformed; cytokine; Cytokines - genetics; endothelial monocyte-activating polypeptide I; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Expression; Hematopoietic Stem Cells - metabolism; Isolated neuron and nerve. Neuroglia; Mast Cells - metabolism; Mesoderm - metabolism; Mice; Microglia - physiology; microglial development; Nerve Tissue Proteins; Proteins - genetics; Receptors, IgE - genetics; RNA, Messenger - metabolism; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Cell line; Mouse; Neuroglia; Rodentia; Cytokine; Cell adhesion molecule; Gene expression; Microglia
• ISSN: 0894-1491; 1098-1136
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1098-1136(199912)28:3<265::AID-GLIA10>3.0.CO;2-F

We used the serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) method to systematically analyze transcripts present in a microglial cell line. Over 10,000 SAGE tags were sequenced, and shown to represent 6,013 unique transcripts. Among the diverse transcripts that had not been previously detected in microglia were those for cytokines such as endothelial monocyte‐activating polypeptide I (EMAP I), and for cell surface antigens, including adhesion molecules such as CD9, CD53, CD107a, CD147, CD162 and mast cell high affinity IgE receptor. In addition, we detected transcripts that were characteristic of hematopoietic cells or mesodermal structures, such as E3 protein, A1, EN‐7, B94, and ufo. Furthermore, the profile contained a transcript, Hn1, that is important in hematopoietic cells and neurological development (Tang et al. Mamm Genome 8:695–696, 1997), suggesting the probable neural differentiation of microglia from the hematopoietic system in development. Messenger RNA expression of these genes was confirmed by RT‐PCR in primary cultures of microglia. Significantly, this is the first systematic profiling of the genes expressed in a microglial cell line. The identification and further characterization of the genes described here should provide potential new targets for the study of microglial biology. GLIA 28:265–271, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.