New molecular atlas reveals brain cell development trajectory

Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden mapped the genetic and developmental trajectories that embryonic brain cells follow during maturation
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This molecular map can not only help people identify genes related to neurodevelopmental conditions and determine the source of malignant cells in brain cancer, it can also be used as a reference for evaluating brain tissue produced by stem cells in the laboratory, and can improve cells in neurodegenerative diseases.

In order to monitor the decision-making process of a single cell in terms of time, the researchers analyzed the brain samples of mouse embryos daily from the 7th day after fertilization to birth
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Combining gene sequencing technology and mathematical methods, the researchers obtained gene expression profiles of approximately 290,000 individual cells from all brain regions, as well as the status of nearly 800 cells, including different types of cells, such as neurons and neuron supporting cells Developmental program

As the neural precursor cells mature, they stop proliferating and differentiate into dozens of different neurons
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The researchers tracked this differentiation and described the timing of neural stem cells that span different brain regions

The researchers also discovered specific types of radial glial cells whose role is to guide the development of neighboring cells by producing molecular messengers.
These molecular messengers help determine the location of various special cell types in the brain
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"If the brain is an orchestra, the organizer's radial glial cells are the conductor

The researchers also identified different cell populations, some of which have 100 times more cells than others
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One of the groups with the largest number of cells seems to be the excitatory neurons in the forebrain, which contains most of the brain areas involved in advanced cognition

In the next step, Manno hopes to determine the location of different cell populations in the developing brain
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"The current map is a molecular map that tells you which cells are similar and which cells are different

Editor-in-chief

Editor-in-chief

This picture records for the first time the genetic and developmental trajectory followed by brain cells from the 7th day after fertilization to birth
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Researchers tracked the brains of mouse embryos to get a preliminary understanding of the developmental procedures of neurons and neuron support cells