Cited by 219Single-cell and spatial transcriptomicsNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research

Single-nucleus transcriptome analysis reveals cell-type-specific molecular signatures across reward circuitry in the human brain

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Tran, Matthew N., Maynard, Kristen R., Spangler, Abby, Huuki, Louise A., Montgomery, Kelsey D., Sadashivaiah, Vijay, Tippani, Madhavi, Barry, Brianna K. +7 more·2021·Neuron

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Abstract

Single-cell gene expression technologies are powerful tools to study cell types in the human brain, but efforts have largely focused on cortical brain regions. We therefore created a single-nucleus RNA-sequencing resource of 70,615 high-quality nuclei to generate a molecular taxonomy of cell types across five human brain regions that serve as key nodes of the human brain reward circuitry: nucleus accumbens, amygdala, subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. We first identified novel subpopulations of interneurons and medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in the nucleus accumbens and further characterized robust GABAergic inhibitory cell populations in the amygdala. Joint analyses across the 107 reported cell classes revealed cell-type substructure and unique patterns of transcriptomic dynamics. We identified discrete subpopulations of D1- and D2-expressing MSNs in the nucleus accumbens to which we mapped cell-type-specific enrichment for genetic risk associated with both psychiatric disease and addiction.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.09.001

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  • snRNA-seq overcomes the need for intact cell dissociation, thereby minimizing dissociation-associated challenges and providing a more physiologically accurate representation of the brain's cellular heterogeneity.

    “snRNA-seq overcomes the need for intact cell dissociation, thereby minimizing dissociation-associated challenges and providing a more physiologically accurate representation of the brain’s cellular heterogeneity[12, 14, 15].”

    From Comparative analysis of nuclei isolation methods for brain single-nucleus RNA sequencing (2026) · cites this paper as [15]

    The Methods describe sequencing nuclei isolated from frozen brain tissue, supporting the point that intact cell dissociation was not required. The paper does not establish that this minimizes dissociation-associated challenges or provides a more physiologically accurate representation of cellular heterogeneity; the Discussion instead notes incomplete transcriptomic capture and that some cell populations were not captured by the protocols. Page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Gerfen CR, Engber TM, Mahan LC, Susel Z, Chase TN, Monsma FJ Jr., and Sibley DR (1990). D1 and D2 dopamine receptor-regulated gene expression of striatonigral and striatopallidal neurons. Science 250, 1429– 1432. 2147780

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Authors
Tran, M. N., Maynard, K. R., Spangler, A., Huuki, L. A., Montgomery, K. D., Sadashivaiah, V., Tippani, M., Barry, B. K., Hancock, D. B., Hicks, S. C., Kleinman, J. E., Hyde, T. M., Collado-Torres, L., Jaffe, A. E., & Martinowich, K.
Affiliations
  • Johns Hopkins University (US)
  • RTI International (US)
Corresponding author
  • Jaffe, Andrew E.
  • Martinowich, Keri
Venue
Neuron
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2021-10
Volume
109
Issue
19
Pages
3088-3103.e5
ISSN
0896-6273 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3203631316
Cited by
219
References
116
Citations by year
2026: 34 · 2025: 42 · 2024: 61 · 2023: 53 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 4
FWCI
11.22
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Neuron (publishedVersion)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • NHGRI (R00HG009007)
  • Lieber Institute for Brain Development (1R01MH123183)
  • National Institute of Mental Health
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA042090)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
Keywords
single-nucleus transcriptomics, nucleus accumbens, amygdala, subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, interneurons, medium spiny neurons, cell type-specific gene expression
MeSH terms
Mental Disorders, Brain, Brain Mapping, Cell Nucleus, gamma-Aminobutyric Acid, Humans, Interneurons, Nerve Net, Neurons, Reward, Sequence Analysis, RNA, Substance-Related Disorders, Gene Expression Profiling, Genome-Wide Association Study, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing

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