Transcriptome profiling of murine spinal neurulation using laser capture microdissection and high-density oligonucleotide microarrays.

Neurulation is a critical process in the formation of the central nervous system during embryonic -development. Closure of the neural tube is driven by forces that originate from both the neuroepithelium and the surrounding tissues. In this chapter, we describe the use of laser capture microdissection to -isolate and separately collect cells from the neuroepithelium and the underlying mesenchyme. We provide protocols for processing of samples for downstream comparison of the transcriptomes of two cell populations using high-density oligonucleotide microarrays, with an emphasis on important technical issues that are to be borne in mind when carrying out these experiments.