2023-10-13 10:28:15
Scientists from around the world have managed to create the first “atlas” of the cells that make up the human brain, a revolutionary work that opens the doors to the development of treatments and cures for brain diseases such as schizophrenia or Alzheimer’s, as well as their prevention.
A total of 21 research studies, which make up the atlas of brain cells, are released this Friday in a special edition of the scientific journal Scienceas well as in the publications Science Advances and Science Translational Medicine.
The studies are the result of work carried out by scientists from around the world in the so-called Initiative BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) – Cell Census Network (BICCN), a consortium of centers in the United States and Europe that since 2014 has been working on the characterization of cell types, and their functions, in the brains of humans, non-human primates, and rodents.
Cell type characterization is the process of identifying, classifying and describing different cell types based on their unique characteristics, properties and functions.
The human brain is made up of 86 billion neurons and a similar number of non-neuronal cells.
An atlas with 3,000 types of brain cells
Researchers have characterized more than 3,000 types of human brain cells, revealing characteristics that distinguish humans from other primates.
Scientists anticipate that identifying brain cells in such detail will pinpoint the cell types most affected by specific mutations that cause neurological diseases.
But in a broader sense, the cellular atlas of the brain will open new doors to understanding how millions of neurons work together to form a network that is the basis of what constitutes a human being: their thoughts, emotions and behaviors.
Joseph Ecker, director of the Genomic Analysis Laboratory at the Salk Institute in the United Statesone of the institutions that are part of the BRAIN Initiative, declared in a statement that the set of 21 studies “is the beginning of a new era of brain science.”
“We will be able to better understand how the brain develops, ages and suffers from diseases,” Ecker added.
The researchers noted that all human brain cells contain the same DNA sequence. But each cell type uses different genes copied into strands of RNA, and in different quantities, to create proteins.
This variation produces many different types of brain cells and contributes to the complexity of neural circuits.
One of the key objectives of the project was to understand what characteristics of brain cell organization are specific to humans compared to that of non-human primates.
The research showed that the neurons of chimpanzees, which are the primates that share the most recent ancestor with humans, are more similar to the neurons of gorillas than to those of humans.
DNA mutations and brain disorders
Understanding the molecular differences of these cell types is critical to understanding how the brain works, how DNA mutations cause brain diseases, and developing new forms of treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders.
At the core of the atlas are three studies that have created the first draft of the atlas, including gene expression and gene regulatory architecture.
One of them, led by scientists at the University of San Diego, analyzed more than 1.1 million cells from 42 regions of three human brains to generate a detailed map of genetic switches in brain cell types.
The study, which identified 107 different subtypes of brain cells, also revealed connections between certain cell types and various neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, Alzheimer’s and depression.
EFE/Alberto Estévez
Scientists also developed artificial intelligence (AI) tools to predict how certain variations in DNA sequence can influence gene regulation and contribute to disease.
Furthermore, a team of researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Yale University School of Medicine created the first atlas of the development of brain cells in the cerebral cortex during six periods, from the fetus to adulthood.
Dr. Panos Roussos, one of the authors of this research on the atlas of brain cells, stated that thanks to the development of this atlas, “a deeper understanding of the complex regulatory mechanisms that form the basis of development and diseases has been obtained.” brain.”
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