The first comprehensive cell atlas of a mammalian brain has been constructed by researchers, who mapped approximately 32 million cells in the mouse brain. This atlas, part of the National Institutes of Health BRAIN Initiative, provides unprecedented insights into brain cell types and connections, increasing our understanding of the human brain and assisting in the development of innovative treatments for brain illnesses.
A revolutionary cell atlas that details over 32 million cells in the entire mouse brain paves the path for a better understanding of the human brain and the development of precision medicines for brain illnesses.
An international team of researchers has constructed a full cell atlas of an entire mammalian brain for the first time. This atlas serves as a map of the mouse brain, describing the kind, location, and chemical information of over 32 million cells as well as information on cell connectivity. The mouse is the most often used vertebrate experimental model in neuroscience research, and this cellular map advances our understanding of the human brain—arguably the most powerful computer on the planet. The cell atlas also provides the groundwork for a new generation of precision treatments for those suffering from mental and neurological illnesses of the brain.
The findings were supported by the National Institutes of Health's Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® Initiative, or The BRAIN Initiative®, and were published in Nature in a collection of ten studies.
"The mouse atlas has brought the intricate network of mammalian brain cells into unprecedented focus, giving researchers the details needed to understand human brain function and diseases," said Joshua A. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, a component of the National Institutes of Health.
Detailed Brain Mapping of the Mouse
The cell atlas details the types of cells found in each region of the mouse brain, as well as how they are organized within those regions. Aside from structural information, the cell atlas includes an exceptionally detailed record of the cell's transcriptome—the whole set of gene readouts in a cell that carries instructions for manufacturing proteins and other biological products. The atlas' transcriptome information is structured hierarchically, detailing cell classes, subclasses, and hundreds of individual cell clusters within the brain.
The atlas also describes the cell epigenome—chemical alterations to a cell's DNA and chromosomes that change how the cell's genetic information is expressed—detailing thousands of epigenomic cell kinds and millions of possible genetic regulatory elements for various brain cell types.
Different cell types are distributed spatially in the mouse brain. In this study, 500 genes in the mouse brain were measured using MERFISH to highlight the diverse distribution of cell types across the brain. Allen Institute, Yao/van Velthoven/Zeng
This atlas' structural, transcriptomic, and epigenetic data give an unprecedented record of cellular organization and diversity across the mouse brain. The atlas also lists the neurotransmitters and neuropeptides used by distinct cells, as well as the relationships between cell types inside the brain. This data can be utilized to create a thorough roadmap for how chemical signals are triggered and transmitted in various areas of the brain. These electrical signals provide the foundation for how brain circuits work and how the brain functions as a whole.
Future Directions and Pioneering Collaborative Efforts
"This product demonstrates the power of this unprecedented, multidisciplinary collaboration and paves the way for more precision brain treatments," stated John Ngai, Ph.D., Director of the NIH BRAIN Initiative."
Seven of the ten investigations in this collection are funded by the NIH BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN), and two are funded by the larger NIH BRAIN Initiative. The BICCN, a ground-breaking, multidisciplinary effort to understand the brain's cellular makeup, seeks to create a comprehensive inventory of the cells in the brain—where they are, how they develop, how they work together, and how they regulate their activity—in order to better understand how brain disorders develop, progress, and are best treated.
"By leveraging the unique nature of its multi-disciplinary and international collaboration, the BICCN was able to accomplish what no other team of scientists has been able to before," Dr. Ngai said in a news release. "Now we are ready to take the next big step—completing the cell maps of the human brain and the nonhuman primate brain."
The BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network (BICAN) is the next step in the NIH BRAIN Initiative's quest to comprehend the mammalian brain's cells and cellular activities. BICAN, along with two other large-scale projects, the BRAIN Initiative Connectivity Across Scales and the Armamentarium for Precision Brain Cell Access, aims to revolutionize neuroscience research by illuminating foundational principles governing the circuit basis of behavior and informing new approaches to treating human brain disorders.
Reference: “A high-resolution transcriptomic and spatial atlas of cell types in the whole mouse brain” by Zizhen Yao, Cindy T. J. van Velthoven, Michael Kunst, Meng Zhang, Delissa McMillen, Changkyu Lee, Won Jung, Jeff Goldy, Aliya Abdelhak, Matthew Aitken, Katherine Baker, Pamela Baker, Eliza Barkan, Darren Bertagnolli, Ashwin Bhandiwad, Cameron Bielstein, Prajal Bishwakarma, Jazmin Campos, Daniel Carey, Tamara Casper, Anish Bhaswanth Chakka, Rushil Chakrabarty, Sakshi Chavan, Min Chen, Michael Clark, Jennie Close, Kirsten Crichton, Scott Daniel, Peter DiValentin, Tim Dolbeare, Lauren Ellingwood, Elysha Fiabane, Timothy Fliss, James Gee, James Gerstenberger, Alexandra Glandon, Jessica Gloe, Joshua Gould, James Gray, Nathan Guilford, Junitta Guzman, Daniel Hirschstein, Windy Ho, Marcus Hooper, Mike Huang, Madie Hupp, Kelly Jin, Matthew Kroll, Kanan Lathia, Arielle Leon, Su Li, Brian Long, Zach Madigan, Jessica Malloy, Jocelin Malone, Zoe Maltzer, Naomi Martin, Rachel McCue, Ryan McGinty, Nicholas Mei, Jose Melchor, Emma Meyerdierks, Tyler Mollenkopf, Skyler Moonsman, Thuc Nghi Nguyen, Sven Otto, Trangthanh Pham, Christine Rimorin, Augustin Ruiz, Raymond Sanchez, Lane Sawyer, Nadiya Shapovalova, Noah Shepard, Cliff Slaughterbeck, Josef Sulc, Michael Tieu, Amy Torkelson, Herman Tung, Nasmil Valera Cuevas, Shane Vance, Katherine Wadhwani, Katelyn Ward, Boaz Levi, Colin Farrell, Rob Young, Brian Staats, Ming-Qiang Michael Wang, Carol L. Thompson, Shoaib Mufti, Chelsea M. Pagan, Lauren Kruse, Nick Dee, Susan M. Sunkin, Luke Esposito, Michael J. Hawrylycz, Jack Waters, Lydia Ng, Kimberly Smith, Bosiljka Tasic, Xiaowei Zhuang and Hongkui Zeng, 13 December 2023, Nature.
