DNA Microarrays for Gene Expression Analysis in Brain Tissue and Cell Lines

Microarray expression profiling of the nervous system provides a powerful approach to ascribe activities to genes involved in distinct phases of neural development and function. Expression profiling of neural tissues and cell lines requires isolation of high-quality RNA, amplification of the isolated RNA, and hybridization to DNA microarrays. In this chapter, theoretical background for expression profiling as well as protocols for reproducible microarray experiments from brain tissue and cell lines derived from brain tissue will be presented in the context of neural proliferation and tumorigenesis in the cerebellum.