A high-resolution transcriptomic and spatial atlas of cell types in the whole mouse brain

The mammalian brain consists of millions to billions of cells that are organized into many cell types with specific spatial distribution patterns and structural and functional properties1-3. Here we report a comprehensive and high-resolution transcriptomic and spatial cell-type atlas for the whole adult mouse brain. The cell-type atlas was created by combining a single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) dataset of around 7 million cells profiled (approximately 4.0 million cells passing quality control), and a spatial transcriptomic dataset of approximately 4.3 million cells using multiplexed error-robust fluorescence in situ hybridization (MERFISH). The atlas is hierarchically organized into 4 nested levels of classification: 34 classes, 338 subclasses, 1,201 supertypes and 5,322 clusters. We present an online platform, Allen Brain Cell Atlas, to visualize the mouse whole-brain cell-type atlas along with the single-cell RNA-sequencing and MERFISH datasets. We systematically analysed the neuronal and non-neuronal cell types across the brain and identified a high degree of correspondence between transcriptomic identity and spatial specificity for each cell type. The results reveal unique features of cell-type organization in different brain regions-in particular, a dichotomy between the dorsal and ventral parts of the brain. The dorsal part contains relatively fewer yet highly divergent neuronal types, whereas the ventral part contains more numerous neuronal types that are more closely related to each other. Our study also uncovered extraordinary diversity and heterogeneity in neurotransmitter and neuropeptide expression and co-expression patterns in different cell types. Finally, we found that transcription factors are major determinants of cell-type classification and identified a combinatorial transcription factor code that defines cell types across all parts of the brain. The whole mouse brain transcriptomic and spatial cell-type atlas establishes a benchmark reference atlas and a foundational resource for integrative investigations of cellular and circuit function, development and evolution of the mammalian brain.

Transcriptomic cytoarchitecture reveals principles of human neocortex organization

Variation in cytoarchitecture is the basis for the histological definition of cortical areas. We used single cell transcriptomics and performed cellular characterization of the human cortex to better understand cortical areal specialization. Single-nucleus RNA-sequencing of 8 areas spanning cortical structural variation showed a highly consistent cellular makeup for 24 cell subclasses. However, proportions of excitatory neuron subclasses varied substantially, likely reflecting differences in connectivity across primary sensorimotor and association cortices. Laminar organization of astrocytes and oligodendrocytes also differed across areas. Primary visual cortex showed characteristic organization with major changes in the excitatory to inhibitory neuron ratio, expansion of layer 4 excitatory neurons, and specialized inhibitory neurons. These results lay the groundwork for a refined cellular and molecular characterization of human cortical cytoarchitecture and areal specialization.

A comparative atlas of single-cell chromatin accessibility in the human brain

Recent advances in single-cell transcriptomics have illuminated the diverse neuronal and glial cell types within the human brain. However, the regulatory programs governing cell identity and function remain unclear. Using a single-nucleus assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing (snATAC-seq), we explored open chromatin landscapes across 1.1 million cells in 42 brain regions from three adults. Integrating this data unveiled 107 distinct cell types and their specific utilization of 544,735 candidate cis-regulatory DNA elements (cCREs) in the human genome. Nearly a third of the cCREs demonstrated conservation and chromatin accessibility in the mouse brain cells. We reveal strong links between specific brain cell types and neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and major depression, and have developed deep learning models to predict the regulatory roles of noncoding risk variants in these disorders.

Single-cell DNA methylation and 3D genome architecture in the human brain

Delineating the gene-regulatory programs underlying complex cell types is fundamental for understanding brain function in health and disease. Here, we comprehensively examined human brain cell epigenomes by probing DNA methylation and chromatin conformation at single-cell resolution in 517 thousand cells (399 thousand neurons and 118 thousand non-neurons) from 46 regions of three adult male brains. We identified 188 cell types and characterized their molecular signatures. Integrative analyses revealed concordant changes in DNA methylation, chromatin accessibility, chromatin organization, and gene expression across cell types, cortical areas, and basal ganglia structures. We further developed single-cell methylation barcodes that reliably predict brain cell types using the methylation status of select genomic sites. This multimodal epigenomic brain cell atlas provides new insights into the complexity of cell-type-specific gene regulation in adult human brains.

Interindividual variation in human cortical cell type abundance and expression

Single-cell transcriptomic studies have identified a conserved set of neocortical cell types from small postmortem cohorts. We extended these efforts by assessing cell type variation across 75 adult individuals undergoing epilepsy and tumor surgeries. Nearly all nuclei map to one of 125 robust cell types identified in the middle temporal gyrus. However, we found interindividual variance in abundances and gene expression signatures, particularly in deep-layer glutamatergic neurons and microglia. A minority of donor variance is explainable by age, sex, ancestry, disease state, and cell state. Genomic variation was associated with expression of 150 to 250 genes for most cell types. This characterization of cellular variation provides a baseline for cell typing in health and disease.

Transcriptomic diversity of cell types across the adult human brain

The human brain directs complex behaviors, ranging from fine motor skills to abstract intelligence, but the diversity of cell types that support these skills has not been fully described. In this work, we used single-nucleus RNA sequencing to systematically survey cells across the entire adult human brain. We sampled more than three million nuclei from approximately 100 dissections across the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain in three postmortem donors. Our analysis identified 461 clusters and 3313 subclusters organized largely according to developmental origins and revealing high diversity in midbrain and hindbrain neurons. Astrocytes and oligodendrocyte-lineage cells also exhibited regional diversity at multiple scales. The transcriptomic census of the entire human brain presented in this work provides a resource for understanding the molecular diversity of the human brain in health and disease.

Enhancer-AAVs allow genetic access to oligodendrocytes and diverse populations of astrocytes across species

Proper brain function requires the assembly and function of diverse populations of neurons and glia. Single cell gene expression studies have mostly focused on characterization of neuronal cell diversity; however, recent studies have revealed substantial diversity of glial cells, particularly astrocytes. To better understand glial cell types and their roles in neurobiology, we built a new suite of adeno-associated viral (AAV)-based genetic tools to enable genetic access to astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. These oligodendrocyte and astrocyte enhancer-AAVs are highly specific (usually > 95% cell type specificity) with variable expression levels, and our astrocyte enhancer-AAVs show multiple distinct expression patterns reflecting the spatial distribution of astrocyte cell types. To provide the best glial-specific functional tools, several enhancer-AAVs were: optimized for higher expression levels, shown to be functional and specific in rat and macaque, shown to maintain specific activity in epilepsy where traditional promoters changed activity, and used to drive functional transgenes in astrocytes including Cre recombinase and acetylcholine-responsive sensor iAChSnFR. The astrocyte-specific iAChSnFR revealed a clear reward-dependent acetylcholine response in astrocytes of the nucleus accumbens during reinforcement learning. Together, this collection of glial enhancer-AAVs will enable characterization of astrocyte and oligodendrocyte populations and their roles across species, disease states, and behavioral epochs.

Cell-type specific molecular signatures of aging revealed in a brain-wide transcriptomic cell-type atlas

Biological aging can be defined as a gradual loss of homeostasis across various aspects of molecular and cellular function. Aging is a complex and dynamic process which influences distinct cell types in a myriad of ways. The cellular architecture of the mammalian brain is heterogeneous and diverse, making it challenging to identify precise areas and cell types of the brain that are more susceptible to aging than others. Here, we present a high-resolution single-cell RNA sequencing dataset containing ~1.2 million high-quality single-cell transcriptomic profiles of brain cells from young adult and aged mice across both sexes, including areas spanning the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. We find age-associated gene expression signatures across nearly all 130+ neuronal and non-neuronal cell subclasses we identified. We detect the greatest gene expression changes in non-neuronal cell types, suggesting that different cell types in the brain vary in their susceptibility to aging. We identify specific, age-enriched clusters within specific glial, vascular, and immune cell types from both cortical and subcortical regions of the brain, and specific gene expression changes associated with cell senescence, inflammation, decrease in new myelination, and decreased vasculature integrity. We also identify genes with expression changes across multiple cell subclasses, pointing to certain mechanisms of aging that may occur across wide regions or broad cell types of the brain. Finally, we discover the greatest gene expression changes in cell types localized to the third ventricle of the hypothalamus, including tanycytes, ependymal cells, and Tbx3+ neurons found in the arcuate nucleus that are part of the neuronal circuits regulating food intake and energy homeostasis. These findings suggest that the area surrounding the third ventricle in the hypothalamus may be a hub for aging in the mouse brain. Overall, we reveal a dynamic landscape of cell-type-specific transcriptomic changes in the brain associated with normal aging that will serve as a foundation for the investigation of functional changes in the aging process and the interaction of aging and diseases.

A high-resolution transcriptomic and spatial atlas of cell types in the whole mouse brain

The mammalian brain is composed of millions to billions of cells that are organized into numerous cell types with specific spatial distribution patterns and structural and functional properties. An essential step towards understanding brain function is to obtain a parts list, i.e., a catalog of cell types, of the brain. Here, we report a comprehensive and high-resolution transcriptomic and spatial cell type atlas for the whole adult mouse brain. The cell type atlas was created based on the combination of two single-cell-level, whole-brain-scale datasets: a single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) dataset of ~7 million cells profiled, and a spatially resolved transcriptomic dataset of ~4.3 million cells using MERFISH. The atlas is hierarchically organized into five nested levels of classification: 7 divisions, 32 classes, 306 subclasses, 1,045 supertypes and 5,200 clusters. We systematically analyzed the neuronal, non-neuronal, and immature neuronal cell types across the brain and identified a high degree of correspondence between transcriptomic identity and spatial specificity for each cell type. The results reveal unique features of cell type organization in different brain regions, in particular, a dichotomy between the dorsal and ventral parts of the brain: the dorsal part contains relatively fewer yet highly divergent neuronal types, whereas the ventral part contains more numerous neuronal types that are more closely related to each other. We also systematically characterized cell-type specific expression of neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, and transcription factors. The study uncovered extraordinary diversity and heterogeneity in neurotransmitter and neuropeptide expression and co-expression patterns in different cell types across the brain, suggesting they mediate a myriad of modes of intercellular communications. Finally, we found that transcription factors are major determinants of cell type classification in the adult mouse brain and identified a combinatorial transcription factor code that defines cell types across all parts of the brain. The whole-mouse-brain transcriptomic and spatial cell type atlas establishes a benchmark reference atlas and a foundational resource for deep and integrative investigations of cell type and circuit function, development, and evolution of the mammalian brain.

A taxonomy of transcriptomic cell types across the isocortex and hippocampal formation

The isocortex and hippocampal formation (HPF) in the mammalian brain play critical roles in perception, cognition, emotion, and learning. We profiled ∼1.3 million cells covering the entire adult mouse isocortex and HPF and derived a transcriptomic cell-type taxonomy revealing a comprehensive repertoire of glutamatergic and GABAergic neuron types. Contrary to the traditional view of HPF as having a simpler cellular organization, we discover a complete set of glutamatergic types in HPF homologous to all major subclasses found in the six-layered isocortex, suggesting that HPF and the isocortex share a common circuit organization. We also identify large-scale continuous and graded variations of cell types along isocortical depth, across the isocortical sheet, and in multiple dimensions in hippocampus and subiculum. Overall, our study establishes a molecular architecture of the mammalian isocortex and hippocampal formation and begins to shed light on its underlying relationship with the development, evolution, connectivity, and function of these two brain structures.

Conserved cell types with divergent features in human versus mouse cortex

Elucidating the cellular architecture of the human cerebral cortex is central to understanding our cognitive abilities and susceptibility to disease. Here we used single-nucleus RNA-sequencing analysis to perform a comprehensive study of cell types in the middle temporal gyrus of human cortex. We identified a highly diverse set of excitatory and inhibitory neuron types that are mostly sparse, with excitatory types being less layer-restricted than expected. Comparison to similar mouse cortex single-cell RNA-sequencing datasets revealed a surprisingly well-conserved cellular architecture that enables matching of homologous types and predictions of properties of human cell types. Despite this general conservation, we also found extensive differences between homologous human and mouse cell types, including marked alterations in proportions, laminar distributions, gene expression and morphology. These species-specific features emphasize the importance of directly studying human brain.

Shared and distinct transcriptomic cell types across neocortical areas

The neocortex contains a multitude of cell types that are segregated into layers and functionally distinct areas. To investigate the diversity of cell types across the mouse neocortex, here we analysed 23,822 cells from two areas at distant poles of the mouse neocortex: the primary visual cortex and the anterior lateral motor cortex. We define 133 transcriptomic cell types by deep, single-cell RNA sequencing. Nearly all types of GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid)-containing neurons are shared across both areas, whereas most types of glutamatergic neurons were found in one of the two areas. By combining single-cell RNA sequencing and retrograde labelling, we match transcriptomic types of glutamatergic neurons to their long-range projection specificity. Our study establishes a combined transcriptomic and projectional taxonomy of cortical cell types from functionally distinct areas of the adult mouse cortex.

Effects of flt3 ligand on acute myeloid and lymphocytic leukemic blast cells from children

A ligand for the flt3 tyrosine kinase receptor (flt3R) has recently been cloned. Forty-three cases of childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and 27 cases of childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) were examined by flow cytometric analysis for cell-surface flt3R and proliferative response in vitro to flt3 ligand (flt3L). Flt3R was commonly expressed on the cell surface of leukemic cells from all AML subclasses and B-ALL, but we did not detect cell-surface flt3R on T-ALL. Flt3L alone induced the proliferation of the monocytic AML-M5 cells and some erythroleukemic AML-M6 cells. Some isolated instances of weak proliferative responses were also noted in other AML subclasses. Interleukin-4 (IL-4) alone inhibited the proliferation of a group of AML-M5 cells and, when combined with flt3L, suppressed the proliferative effect of flt3L. In general, B-ALL and T-ALL cells failed to respond to flt3L alone or in the presence of combinations of IL-2, IL-3, or IL-7.

Expression and function of CD40 on Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells and the possible relevance for Hodgkin's disease

CD40 was originally described as a B-cell-restricted antigen and was subsequently found to be a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor superfamily. CD40 is also expressed on dendritic cells, thymic epithelium, monocytes, and some carcinoma cell lines, and plays a critical role in cell contact-dependent activation. Primary and cultured Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg (H-RS) cells, the presumed malignant cells of Hodgkin's disease (HD); were found to express high levels of cell surface CD40. We found that recombinant CD40 ligand (CD40L) induced interleukin-8 (IL-8) secretion and enhanced IL-6, TNF, and lymphotoxin-alpha (LT-alpha/TNF-beta) release from cultured H-RS cells. These cytokines play a significant role in the clinical presentation and pathology of HD, a tumor of cytokine-producing cells. CD40L had no mitogenic activity for HD-derived cell lines. In contrast, CD40L enhanced expression of costimulatory molecules intracellular adhesion molecule-T and B7-1 on cultured H-RS cells, both of which are overexpressed on primary H-RS cells. In addition, CD40L induced a 40% to 60% reduction of the expression of the HD-associated CD30 antigen, another member of the TNF receptor superfamily. Primary and cultured H-RS cells express not only CD30, but also CD40. CD40L has pleiotropic biologic activities on H-RS cells, and the CD40-CD40L interaction might be a critical element in the deregulated cytokine network and cell contact-dependent activation cascade typical for HD.