Single-cell RNA sequencing and single-nucleus RNA sequencing have recently provided the opportunity to investigate cellular and molecular aspects of neuro-immune interactions in the brain with unprecedented detail. Here, we highlight the major advances in human neuroimmunology reported this year based on these cutting-edge technologies.
Key advances
Single-cell and single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) using brain tissue from patients with multiple sclerosis revealed multiple distinct subsets of microglia; showed that the excitatory neurons of cortical layers 2-3 are most affected by the disease; and identified a subset of oligodendrocytes that express pro-inflammatory genes.
snRNA-seq deconvoluted progressive molecular alterations of various cell types arising during Alzheimer disease and revealed potential gender differences.
Epigenetic profiling of single nuclei identified enhancers that control the expression of genes underlying the identity and function of all human brain cells.
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Acknowledgements
We thank A. Swain and S. Gilfillan for helpful suggestions during the preparation of the manuscript.
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M.C. receives research support from Alector, Amgen and Ono. S.B. declares no competing interests.
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Colonna, M., Brioschi, S. Neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in human brain at single-cell resolution. Nat Rev Immunol 20, 81–82 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-019-0262-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-019-0262-0
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