Premium
Molecular definition of CNS cell types and their physiologic responses in health and disease.
Author(s) -
Heintz Nathaniel,
Hatten Mary E.,
Gong Shiaoching,
Myriam Heiman,
Schaefer Anne,
Doyle Joseph,
Stevens Tanya,
Dougherty Joseph,
Greengard Paul
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a201-c
Subject(s) - neuroscience , biology , cell type , disease , transgene , cell , central nervous system , computational biology , gene , genetics , medicine , pathology
The cellular heterogeneity of the brain confounds efforts to discover the molecular, cell biological, and physiological properties of specific neuronal populations in situ, and their responses to genetic, pharmacological, and environmental perturbations. During the last decade, we have developed methods to gain genetic access to specific CNS cell types and circuits, to determine their anatomic and molecular properties, and to dissect their roles in mammalian CNS circuitry.The Gene Expression Nervous Sytstem Atlas (GENSAT) project is the first large‐scale effort to employ these methods to genetically define CNS cell types, and to provide a library of BAC vectors and BAC transgenic mice to enable a broad array of investigations not previously available to the neuroscience community. I will describe the use of the GENSAT atlas as a foundation for advanced genetic and functional studies of CNS cell populations, and elucidation of their physiological responses in health and disease.