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A cell’s lineage describes the developmental history of a cell from its birth until its final division and differentiation into a particular cell type, which is known as its cell fate. Cell fate is determined by the actions of numerous cell intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
We discovered expression of SYNGAP1, which encodes the ‘synaptic’ protein SYNGAP1, within human cortical progenitors. In an organoid model of SYNGAP1 haploinsufficiency, cortical neurogenesis and neuronal network activity were disrupted. This finding reveals an unknown function for SYNGAP1 at early stages of development, providing a new framework for understanding the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorder.
Human cerebellar development is fundamentally linked to its function. Here, the authors combine single-cell transcriptomics, spatial transcriptomics, and single-cell chromatin accessibility states to systematically depict an integrative spatiotemporal landscape of human fetal cerebellar development.
The authors seek to understand the precise roles of microglia in the early human brain by coculturing brain organoids with primitive-like macrophages generated from the same human induced pluripotent stem cells (iMac).
Excitatory spiny stellate neurons in the somatosensory cortex are shaped by innervating thalamic inputs and unique expression of genes. Here, the authors show that these neurons play a crucial role in processing distinct whisker signals and forming specialized circuits for sensory perception.
The mechanism and physiological role of brain-expressed Erythropoietin (EPO) is unclear. Here, authors show that the trajectory of pyramidal neurons is maneuvered by EPO, befitting the neurogenic hypothesis of alleviating mood, memory, and cognition.
We discovered expression of SYNGAP1, which encodes the ‘synaptic’ protein SYNGAP1, within human cortical progenitors. In an organoid model of SYNGAP1 haploinsufficiency, cortical neurogenesis and neuronal network activity were disrupted. This finding reveals an unknown function for SYNGAP1 at early stages of development, providing a new framework for understanding the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorder.
A new technique developed by Garcia-Marques and colleagues uses CRISPR–Cas9 editing to activate an ordered sequence of fluorescent markers in stem cells and their progeny. These tools represent a new way to probe the spatial and temporal patterns of cell lineage progression.
A study in Nature describes RNA velocity, which is a computational method to derive dynamic gene expression information from static single-cell RNA sequencing data. It provides valuable insights into developmental trajectories of cells.
The transcription factor MYT1L contributes to the induction and maintenance of neuronal identity through the repression of multiple alternative lineages.
