Single-cell and single-nucleus RNA-seq uncovers shared and distinct axes of variation in dorsal LGN neurons in mice, non-human primates, and humans

eLife

Michael J Hawrylycz¹  Emma Garren¹  Trygve E Bakken¹  Lucas T Graybuck¹  Ed Lein¹  Jeff Goldy¹  Sheana Parry¹  Cindy TJ van Velthoven¹  Eliza R Barkan¹  Darren Bertagnolli¹  Anna Marie Yanny¹  Hongkui Zeng¹  Kimberly A Smith¹  Zizhen Yao¹  Amy Bernard¹  Boaz P Levi¹  Aaron Szafer¹  Susan M Sunkin¹  Soraya I Shehata¹  Gabe J Murphy¹  Tamara Casper¹  Nick Dee¹  John Phillips¹  Bosiljka Tasic¹  Rebecca D Hodge¹  Christof Koch¹  Thuc Nghi Nguyen¹  Vilas Menon²  Gregory D Horwitz³ 

[1] Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, United States;Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, United States;Department of Neurology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, United States;Washington National Primate Research Center and Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, United States;

关键词: maccaca nemestrina;    macaca fascicularis;    single-cell RNA-seq;    species comparison;    lateral geniculate nucleus;    Human;    Mouse;    Other;   

DOI  :  10.7554/eLife.64875

来源: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd

【 摘 要 】

Abundant evidence supports the presence of at least three distinct types of thalamocortical (TC) neurons in the primate dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) of the thalamus, the brain region that conveys visual information from the retina to the primary visual cortex (V1). Different types of TC neurons in mice, humans, and macaques have distinct morphologies, distinct connectivity patterns, and convey different aspects of visual information to the cortex. To investigate the molecular underpinnings of these cell types, and how these relate to differences in dLGN between human, macaque, and mice, we profiled gene expression in single nuclei and cells using RNA-sequencing. These efforts identified four distinct types of TC neurons in the primate dLGN: magnocellular (M) neurons, parvocellular (P) neurons, and two types of koniocellular (K) neurons. Despite extensively documented morphological and physiological differences between M and P neurons, we identified few genes with significant differential expression between transcriptomic cell types corresponding to these two neuronal populations. Likewise, the dominant feature of TC neurons of the adult mouse dLGN is high transcriptomic similarity, with an axis of heterogeneity that aligns with core vs. shell portions of mouse dLGN. Together, these data show that transcriptomic differences between principal cell types in the mature mammalian dLGN are subtle relative to the observed differences in morphology and cortical projection targets. Finally, alignment of transcriptome profiles across species highlights expanded diversity of GABAergic neurons in primate versus mouse dLGN and homologous types of TC neurons in primates that are distinct from TC neurons in mouse.

【 授权许可】

CC BY