As the most complex organ in humans, the brain is anatomically divided into different regions. These different brain regions have special input-output connections and play various important functions. During the development of the human brain, complex cell types are generated through inherent genetic programs. Some of these cell types already have clear characteristics, but there are still many that need to be clearly described.

Currently, there is a lack of high-resolution spatial research on continuous time points in the later stages of brain development. Considering the rapid expansion of human brain volume during development, this poses a huge challenge for exploring the development of the human brain, especially the study of regional specialization in space.

In a study published in Cell entitled ‘Spatiotemporal transcriptome atlas reveals the regional specification of the developing human brain’, researchers decode the spatiotemporal transcriptome atlas of multiple regions of the developing human brain. This study combines single cell sequencing (scRNA-seq) and single cell spatial transcriptome technology (scStereo-seq) to analyze the transcriptome spectrum of human brain of multiple regions with the widest cross time points (GW6-GW23) and the largest area (maximum 4cm x 3cm) to date. This study identified and presented heterogeneous radial glial cell subtypes with specific spatial distribution characteristics in early development, revealing that these heterogeneous radial glial cells contribute to the subsequent specialization of neurons in different brain regions. At the same time, it was found that the interaction between glial cells and neurons also promoted regional specialization of neurons.

This study provides valuable resources for understanding human brain development, neuronal regional specialization, and related diseases by combining single-cell transcriptome and spatial transcriptome to characterize the spatiotemporal developmental transcriptome spectrum of multiple regions of the human brain at multiple time points and over a large area. This breakthrough provides clues for assisting in the treatment of brain diseases. At the same time, it is worth noting that this study marks the entry of Chinese scientists into the world's top tier in the field of human brain spatial omics research in the fierce international competition.

Link：https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2023.11.016

Contact：

Jianwei JIAO

Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Tel: +86-10-64806335

Email: jwjiao@ioz.ac.cn

Web: http://english.ioz.cas.cn/