Transcriptional Profiling of Single Electrophysiologically Defined Neurons
Despite the functional importance of the ventral subiculum for information processing and disease, nothing is known regarding the fundamental molecular profiles of the two electrophysiologically distinct principle neurons. The only reliable identification method are the spiking properties unique to each cell type, which likely under-estimates the true diversity of pyramidal neurons in the subiculum. We are incredibly motivated to generate transcriptomic profiles for the two electrophysiologically distinct cell types to provide the first molecular characterization of these two enigmatic cells. We anticipate the identification of molecular markers that will eventally lead to genetic tools to facilitate further functional characterization of the unique populations of neurons in the subiculum. Moreover, the identification of synaptic cell-adhesion molecule expression that is unique to distinct cell-types will serve as molecular handles to facilitate our dissection of disease-relevant circuitry with cell-type- and synapse-specific resolution. In addition, we are interested in exploring how RS and BS transcriptomes change as a function of drug-induced plasticity to identify candidates for future studies.
Venn diagram model of potential results from single-cell RNA-sequencing. We have identified genes shared and unique to each cell-type. Specifically, we are currently in the process of identifying trans-synaptic cell-adhesion molecules (tsCAMs) that are differentially regulated.