Detection and semi-quantitative determination of low abundance GFAP mRNA in mouse brain by capillary electrophoresis coupled with laser-induced fluorescence.

The sensitivity of capillary electrophoresis coupled with laser-induced fluorescence (CE-LIF) was compared with conventional agarose gel electrophoresis-ethidium bromide-UV method (AE-EUV) for detection and semi-quantitative determination of GFAP mRNA in mouse brain. GFAP expression was induced by the neurotoxin MPTP in C57BL mice. Serially diluted RNA samples (0.0003, 0.003, 0.03, 0.3, and 3 microg total RNA) were subjected to RT-PCR and analyzed by both procedures. The integrated pixel density (AE-EUV) and peak area (CE-LIF) were directly proportional to the amount of RNA. However, the observed high sensitivity of CE-LIF suggests its potential application for detection and semi-quantitative determination of low-abundance mRNA transcripts.