Laser capture microdissection and quantitative-PCR analysis.

Laser capture microdissection (LCM) provides an efficient and precise method for the sampling of single cells or subgroups of cells in heterogeneous tissues such as the brain. We have recently applied LCM coupled with microarray analysis for the examination of gene expression in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus of free fed versus fasted rats. We successfully used QPCR analysis to validate our findings and to confirm the regulation of several known neuropeptides. We show that the combination of LCM and QPCR analysis provides a reliable, fast, and efficient alternative to semiquantitative in situ hybridization analysis of gene expression.