Analysis of gene expression in wildtype and Notch1 mutant retinal cells by single cell profiling

Loss of Notch1 in retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) during postnatal retinal development results in the overproduction of rod photoreceptors at the expense of interneurons and glia. To examine the molecular underpinnings of this observation, microarray analysis of singla retinal cells from wildtype (WT) or Notch1 conditional knockout (N1-CKO) retinas was performed. The majority of N1-CKO cells lost expression of known Notch target genes. These cells also had low levels of RPC and cell cycle genes, and robustly upregulated rod precursor genes. In addition, single WT cells, in which cell cycle marker genes were downregulated, expressed markers of both rod photoreceptors and interneurons. These results demonstrate that individual, newly postmitotic retinal cells can begin to differentiate into more than one cell type, and that this transitional state may be dependent on Notch1 signaling.

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Mizeracka K, DeMaso CR, Cepko CL