summary: The researchers created an atlas detailing the brain’s early genetic development from the sixth to 13th week of embryonic development. This new study provides a comprehensive view of gene regulation across different brain regions, going beyond previous studies that focused primarily on the cortex.
It is hoped that this atlas will help understand the developmental errors that lead to childhood brain tumors and may aid in the development of targeted treatments. Additionally, the study is part of the broader Human Developmental Cell Atlas project, which aims to map the genetic development of various organs.
Important facts:
- Extensive brain mapping: This atlas provides a detailed map of gene activation and cell development in the brain during early embryonic stages.
- Potential clinical applications: Insights from this atlas are being used to study and understand the causes of pediatric brain tumors and may lead to new treatment strategies.
- Joint research efforts: This research is part of a larger effort, funded by prominent foundations, to create a comprehensive cellular atlas of multiple organs to improve our understanding of human development and disease.
sauce: Karolinska Institute
In an article published in Natureresearchers at Karolinska Institutet publish an atlas of early brain development.
This atlas can be used, among other things, to discover what went wrong in the development of brain tumors in children and to discover new treatments.
An international research team led by Karolinska Institutet has mapped the early genetic development of the brain and is now able to present an atlas of fetal development from six to 13 weeks.
“This is the first comprehensive study of brain development that focuses on gene regulation. Previous research has almost always focused on the cortex, the cerebral cortex. Our study “We have systematically mapped the entire brain so that all regions can be compared with each other,” says Sten, Professor of Molecular Systems Biology in the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics at Karolinska Institutet and the study’s leader.・Mr. Rinnerson said:
When the brain begins to develop in the early embryo, it begins as a tube-like object, the walls of the tube develop into the brain, and the centers of the fluid-filled tubes become the ventricles, or cavities of the brain.
Between the 6th and 13th week of pregnancy, the cells in the walls of the fallopian tubes rapidly become specialized. This happens through a very complex cascade of reactions in which substances are secreted that induce the development of the first cells in a specific way. These cells secrete additional signals that control, for example, the next steps in cell development.
This signal also acts as a new signal, activating genes that produce specialized proteins for different cell types.
“What we’ve been studying is this process of how and in what order and in which cell types genes are activated during this process of brain formation. And we wanted to follow each step of the process leading to the protein,” says Sten Rinnarson.
The study was carried out using a method that can measure both the active regions of DNA and the RNA strands formed within individual cells. Researchers can now put together the puzzle and present a map of how the puzzle works.
The study is part of a large Swedish project, the Human Developmental Cell Atlas, in which several research groups are studying the genetic development of the brain, heart, lungs, and other organs. Research on this project is currently underway, and researchers are using the map to find answers to what went wrong with the disease.
“We are currently studying the development of brain tumors in children. Fortunately, this is a rare disease, but it is one of the most common diseases that lead to death in children.
“We study tumors that occur during fetal brain development, and we are using the atlas to understand the mechanisms by which normal development goes awry and how this drives tumor formation and tumor growth. “We are trying to understand this,” says Sten Rinnarson.
Funding: This research was funded by the Erling Persson Family Foundation, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, and EC Horizon 2020. Sten Rinnarsson is Scientific Advisor to Moleculent, Convigene and the University of Oslo Immunotherapy Center of Excellence. He and his lead author, Camiel Mannens, are also shareholders in his EEL Transcriptomics AB, which owns the intellectual property rights to EEL-FISH.
About this genetics and neurodevelopmental research news
author: Sten Linnerson
sauce: Karolinska Institute
contact: Sten Rinnarson – Karolinska Institutet
image: Image credited to Neuroscience News
Original research: Open access.
“Accessibility of chromatin during neurodevelopment during early pregnancy in humansWritten by Sten Rinnarson et al. Nature
abstract
Accessibility of chromatin during neurodevelopment during early pregnancy in humans
The human brain develops through a tightly orchestrated cascade of patterning events driven by changes in transcription factor expression and chromatin accessibility.
Gene expression throughout the developing brain has been described at single-cell resolution, whereas similar atlases of chromatin accessibility have primarily focused on the forebrain.
Here we describe chromatin accessibility and paired gene expression throughout the developing human brain during the first trimester (6–13 weeks postconception).
We defined 135 clusters and linked the candidates using multi-ohm measurements. Sith-Regulatory elements for gene expression. The number of accessible regions increased with age and with neuronal differentiation.
Using convolutional neural networks, we identified putative functional transcription factor binding sites within enhancers that characterize neuronal subtypes.
This model was applied to Sith-Relevant regulatory factors ESRRB We will elucidate its activation mechanism in the Purkinje cell lineage.
Finally, by associating single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with diseases, SithWe examined putative pathogenic mechanisms in several diseases and identified that GABAergic neurons derived from the midbrain are most vulnerable to mutations associated with major depressive disorder.
Our findings provide a more detailed view of the key gene regulatory mechanisms underlying the emergence of brain cell types during early pregnancy and provide a comprehensive reference for future studies related to human neurodevelopment. We provide.
