Spatio-temporal transcriptome of the human brain
- PMID: 22031440
- PMCID: PMC3566780
- DOI: 10.1038/nature10523
Spatio-temporal transcriptome of the human brain
Abstract
Brain development and function depend on the precise regulation of gene expression. However, our understanding of the complexity and dynamics of the transcriptome of the human brain is incomplete. Here we report the generation and analysis of exon-level transcriptome and associated genotyping data, representing males and females of different ethnicities, from multiple brain regions and neocortical areas of developing and adult post-mortem human brains. We found that 86 per cent of the genes analysed were expressed, and that 90 per cent of these were differentially regulated at the whole-transcript or exon level across brain regions and/or time. The majority of these spatio-temporal differences were detected before birth, with subsequent increases in the similarity among regional transcriptomes. The transcriptome is organized into distinct co-expression networks, and shows sex-biased gene expression and exon usage. We also profiled trajectories of genes associated with neurobiological categories and diseases, and identified associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms and gene expression. This study provides a comprehensive data set on the human brain transcriptome and insights into the transcriptional foundations of human neurodevelopment.
Figures
![Figure 1](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/3566780/bin/nihms321722f1.gif)
![Figure 2](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/3566780/bin/nihms321722f2.gif)
![Figure 3](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/3566780/bin/nihms321722f3.gif)
![Figure 4](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/3566780/bin/nihms321722f4.gif)
![Figure 5](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/3566780/bin/nihms321722f5.gif)
![Figure 6](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/3566780/bin/nihms321722f6.gif)
Comment in
-
Gene expression: the dynamics of the brain transcriptome revealed.Nat Rev Neurosci. 2011 Nov 18;12(12):703. doi: 10.1038/nrn3145. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2011. PMID: 22095063 No abstract available.
Similar articles
-
Advances in transcriptome analysis of human brain aging.Exp Mol Med. 2020 Nov;52(11):1787-1797. doi: 10.1038/s12276-020-00522-6. Epub 2020 Nov 26. Exp Mol Med. 2020. PMID: 33244150 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Temporal changes in the gene expression heterogeneity during brain development and aging.Sci Rep. 2020 Mar 5;10(1):4080. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-60998-0. Sci Rep. 2020. PMID: 32139741 Free PMC article.
-
On Expression Patterns and Developmental Origin of Human Brain Regions.PLoS Comput Biol. 2016 Aug 26;12(8):e1005064. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005064. eCollection 2016 Aug. PLoS Comput Biol. 2016. PMID: 27564987 Free PMC article.
-
Sex Biased Gene Expression Profiling of Human Brains at Major Developmental Stages.Sci Rep. 2016 Feb 16;6:21181. doi: 10.1038/srep21181. Sci Rep. 2016. PMID: 26880485 Free PMC article.
-
Gene expression in the human brain: the current state of the study of specificity and spatiotemporal dynamics.Child Dev. 2013 Jan-Feb;84(1):76-88. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12014. Epub 2012 Nov 12. Child Dev. 2013. PMID: 23145569 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Neurobiology of cognitive abilities in early childhood autism.JCPP Adv. 2024 Jan 20;4(2):e12214. doi: 10.1002/jcv2.12214. eCollection 2024 Jun. JCPP Adv. 2024. PMID: 38827984 Free PMC article.
-
Defining cis-regulatory elements and transcription factors that control human cortical interneuron development.iScience. 2024 May 11;27(6):109967. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109967. eCollection 2024 Jun 21. iScience. 2024. PMID: 38827400 Free PMC article.
-
Diffusion imaging genomics provides novel insight into early mechanisms of cerebral small vessel disease.Mol Psychiatry. 2024 May 29. doi: 10.1038/s41380-024-02604-7. Online ahead of print. Mol Psychiatry. 2024. PMID: 38811690
-
Neural correlates of obesity across the lifespan.Commun Biol. 2024 May 28;7(1):656. doi: 10.1038/s42003-024-06361-9. Commun Biol. 2024. PMID: 38806652 Free PMC article.
-
Analysis of gene expression in the postmortem brain of neurotypical Black Americans reveals contributions of genetic ancestry.Nat Neurosci. 2024 Jun;27(6):1064-1074. doi: 10.1038/s41593-024-01636-0. Epub 2024 May 20. Nat Neurosci. 2024. PMID: 38769152 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Kostovic I, Judas M. Prolonged coexistence of transient and permanent circuitry elements in the developing cerebral cortex of fetuses and preterm infants. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2006;48:388–393. - PubMed
-
- Hill RS, Walsh CA. Molecular insights into human brain evolution. Nature. 2005;437:64–67. - PubMed
-
- Preuss T, Cáceres M, Oldham M, Geschwind D. Human brain evolution: insights from microarrays. Nat Rev Genet. 2004;5:850–860. - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Associated data
- Actions
Grants and funding
- G9900837/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom
- HD000836/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States
- R01 NS054273-07/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States
- U01 MH081896-03/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States
- GR082557/WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom
- R01 NS054273/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States
- U01 MH081896/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States
- DA026119/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United States
- WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom
- G0700089/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom
- R25 DA026119/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United States
- NS054273/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States
- RC2 MH089929-02/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States
- U24 NS051869/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States
- R24 HD000836/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States
- MH089929/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States
- RC2 MH089929/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States
- MH081896/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical