Transcriptomic Analysis of CAD Cell Differentiation

CAD cells were derived from Cath.a cells, a mouse central nervous system catecholaminergic cell line. Serum-starved CAD cells undergo morphological changes and resemble isolated neurons when observed by microscopy. We carried out an RNAseq transcriptomic analysis to examine differentiated CAD cells for expression signatures related to neuronal functions, identifying ∼1900 transcripts whose expression changed with differentiation. Pathview analysis identified ∼80 KEGG pathway gene sets that were differentially expressed, including upregulation of at least 13 neuron-related pathways. This dataset can be explored more deeply, allowing further investigation into expression changes relevant to studying neuronal functions in this easy-to-culture model system.