Prayag Rajagopalan

Glial cells are non-neuronal cells present within the central nervous system that provide various forms of support to the neural cells. A specific type of glial cells, called microglia, act as specialized macrophages in the central nervous system by maintaining neuronal connections, regulating brain development, and repairing any injury. Although microglia are very important, little is known about their nuclear mechanism and function. One area of research delving into this subject is the cell-type specific temporal order of DNA replication, called Replication Timing (RT). During the S-phase of the cell cycle, the genome of a cell is replicated in a very specific order, whose discrete domains are named Replication Domains (RDs). Repli-seq is a high-throughput sequencing method developed by Dr. Rivera-Mulia that segregates the S-phase of cells into separate early and late Replication Domains (RDs). To learn more about the nuclear function of microglial cells, I have performed microglial cell culture and expansion towards obtaining samples for for Repli-Seq analysis. I successfully obtained microglial cells and analyzed the cell cycle of these cells. Preliminary data indicates a minimum of 10 million cells is needed for RT analysis by Repli-seq.