Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Genetics and Genomics Graduate Program, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Development. 2024 May 15;151(10). doi: 10.1242/dev.202209. Epub 2024 May 28.
Dorsal interneurons (dIs) in the spinal cord encode the perception of touch, pain, heat, itchiness and proprioception. Previous studies using genetic strategies in animal models have revealed important insights into dI development, but the molecular details of how dIs arise as distinct populations of neurons remain incomplete. We have developed a resource to investigate dI fate specification by combining a single-cell RNA-Seq atlas of mouse embryonic stem cell-derived dIs with pseudotime analyses. To validate this in silico resource as a useful tool, we used it to first identify genes that are candidates for directing the transition states that lead to distinct dI lineage trajectories, and then validated them using in situ hybridization analyses in the developing mouse spinal cord in vivo. We have also identified an endpoint of the dI5 lineage trajectory and found that dIs become more transcriptionally homogeneous during terminal differentiation. This study introduces a valuable tool for further discovery about the timing of gene expression during dI differentiation and demonstrates its utility in clarifying dI lineage relationships.
脊髓中的背侧中间神经元(dIs)编码触觉、疼痛、热、瘙痒和本体感觉的感知。以前使用动物模型中的遗传策略进行的研究揭示了 dI 发育的重要见解,但作为不同神经元群体出现的 dIs 的分子细节仍然不完整。我们通过将单细胞 RNA-Seq 图谱与拟时分析相结合,开发了一种资源来研究 dI 命运的指定。为了验证这个虚拟资源是一个有用的工具,我们首先使用它来鉴定可能指导导致不同 dI 谱系轨迹的过渡状态的基因,然后使用体内原位杂交分析在发育中的小鼠脊髓中对它们进行验证。我们还确定了 dI5 谱系轨迹的终点,并发现 dIs 在终末分化过程中变得更具转录同质性。这项研究介绍了一个有价值的工具,用于进一步发现 dI 分化过程中基因表达的时间,并证明了它在阐明 dI 谱系关系方面的实用性。
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