南非开普敦大学Dorit Hockman研究团队发现，一份颞皮层细胞图谱突出人类大脑成熟过程中基因表达的动态变化。相关论文于2024年11月20日在线发表于国际学术期刊《自然—遗传学》。

研究人员通过对颞叶组织（包括非洲血统样本）进行单核RNA测序，构建了一个结合儿童和成人的细胞图谱，涵盖了75个细胞亚型，并通过空间转录组学验证了这些结果。研究人员探索了儿童与成人细胞亚型之间的差异，揭示了在大脑成熟过程中发生变化的基因和通路。

这些结果突出了兴奋性神经元亚型，包括LTK和FREM亚型。这些亚型在儿童组织中显示出与认知和突触可塑性相关的基因的高表达。

研究人员展示的资源增进了人们对大脑发育过程的理解，并为全球构建包容性的脑细胞图谱做出了贡献。

据悉，人类大脑经历了漫长的出生后成熟过程，这一过程由基因表达的动态变化引导。大多数研究这些过程的工作使用了整体组织分析，但这种方法掩盖了细胞类型特异性的基因表达动态。

附：英文原文

Title: A temporal cortex cell atlas highlights gene expression dynamics during human brain maturation

Author: Steyn, Christina, Mishi, Ruvimbo, Fillmore, Stephanie, Verhoog, Matthijs B., More, Jessica, Rohlwink, Ursula K., Melvill, Roger, Butler, James, Enslin, Johannes M. N., Jacobs, Muazzam, Sauka-Spengler, Tatjana, Greco, Maria, Quiones, Sadi, Dulla, Chris G., Raimondo, Joseph V., Figaji, Anthony, Hockman, Dorit

Issue&Volume: 2024-11-20

Abstract: The human brain undergoes protracted postnatal maturation, guided by dynamic changes in gene expression. Most studies exploring these processes have used bulk tissue analyses, which mask cell-type-specific gene expression dynamics. Here, using single-nucleus RNA sequencing on temporal lobe tissue, including samples of African ancestry, we build a joint pediatric and adult atlas of 75 cell subtypes, which we verify with spatial transcriptomics. We explore the differences between pediatric and adult cell subtypes, revealing the genes and pathways that change during brain maturation. Our results highlight excitatory neuron subtypes, including the LTK and FREM subtypes, that show elevated expression of genes associated with cognition and synaptic plasticity in pediatric tissue. The resources we present here improve our understanding of the brain during its development and contribute to global efforts to build an inclusive brain cell map.

DOI: 10.1038/s41588-024-01990-6

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-024-01990-6