Cited by 927Autism Spectrum Disorder ResearchGenetics and Neurodevelopmental DisordersSingle-cell and spatial transcriptomics

Single-cell genomics identifies cell type–specific molecular changes in autism

Open access
Velmeshev, Dmitry, Schirmer, Lucas, Jung, Diane, Haeussler, Maximilian, Perez, Yonatan, Mayer, Simone, Bhaduri, Aparna, Goyal, Nitasha +2 more·2019·Science

Abstract

Brain cell transcriptomes in autism: Autism manifests in many ways. Despite that diversity, the disorder seems to affect specific cellular pathways, including those observed in the neocortex of patients' brains. Velmeshev et al. analyzed the transcriptomes of single brain cells, including neurons and glia, from patients with autism. Single-nucleus RNA sequencing analysis suggested that affected pathways regulate synapse function as well as neural outgrowth and migration. Furthermore, in patient samples, specific sets of genes enriched in upper-layer projection neurons and microglia correlated with clinical severity. Science , this issue p. 685

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Crossref · 10.1126/science.aav8130

Cites

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  • One study using single cell technologies on brain tissue from people with ASD demonstrated changes in transcription in multiple cell types including upper-layer cortical neurons.

    “Of note, one study used single cell technologies to examine specific cell types and developmental stages using brain tissue from people with ASD 60 , and demonstrated changes in transcription in multiple cell types including upper-layer cortical neurons.”

    From Autism spectrum disorder (2020) · cites this paper as [60]

    The paper reports single-nucleus RNA sequencing of cortical tissue from people with ASD and identifies transcriptional changes in multiple cell types, including upper-layer L2/3 neurons (Abstract; study description and gene-expression results, page unavailable). The citing sentence also says the study examined developmental stages, but the passages describe samples aged 4–22 and developmental lineages, not an analysis of distinct developmental stages. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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  • Of the 121,451 cells in the Velmeshev et al. ASD snRNA-seq dataset, 20,249 were labeled as inhibitory neurons based on marker gene expression profiles.

    “Of the 121,451 cells in this dataset, 20,249 were labeled as inhibitory neurons based on marker gene expression profiles.”

    From hdWGCNA identifies co-expression networks in high-dimensional transcriptomics data (2023) · cites this paper as Velmeshev et al.9

    The paper’s clustering passage (section labeled Abstract; page unavailable) says it annotated cell types, including interneurons, using known cell-type markers. Its sequencing passage reports 104,559 ASD-and-control nuclei plus 21,984 additional epilepsy-and-control profiles; our copy does not establish the claimed total of 121,451 cells or the count of 20,249 inhibitory neurons. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Cell type-specific alterations have been observed in patients with autism spectrum disorder and brain organoid disease models.

    “Cell type-specific alterations have been observed in patients with ASD and brain organoid disease models11,34.”

    From Single-cell brain organoid screening identifies developmental defects in autism (2023) · cites this paper as [34]

    The paper’s Abstract reports cell type-specific molecular changes in cortical tissue from patients with ASD, including changes in upper-layer excitatory neurons and microglia. The sentence also mentions brain organoid disease models, but our copy does not report findings from organoid models (searched: organoid). (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • CHCHD2 encodes a mitochondrial protein, and its downregulation has been observed in neurons from postmortem brains of patients with autism spectrum disorder.

    “CHCHD2 encodes a mitochondrial protein, and its downregulation has been observed in neurons from the postmortem brains of patients with ASD34.”

    From Single-cell brain organoid screening identifies developmental defects in autism (2023) · cites this paper as [34]

    The indexed text (section labeled Abstract; page unavailable) reports downregulated neuronal genes in postmortem ASD samples. It does not identify CHCHD2 among those genes or say that CHCHD2 encodes a mitochondrial protein, so it does not support the gene-specific claim. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • ASD risk gene coexpression networks are enriched in upper-layer neurons during development and these neurons are preferentially affected in ASD patients.

    “This aligns with the observation that ASD risk gene coexpression networks are enriched in upper-layer neurons during development and that these neurons are preferentially affected in ASD patients6,34.”

    From Single-cell brain organoid screening identifies developmental defects in autism (2023) · cites this paper as [34]

    The paper reports that ASD-associated genes and molecular changes are enriched in upper-layer cortical neurons, and that gene expression in layer 2/3 neurons is especially affected in ASD patients (Abstract; page not provided). It does not report an analysis showing that ASD risk-gene coexpression networks are enriched in those neurons during development; it refers more generally to previous studies of fetal cell-type convergence. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [8]Satterstrom FK, bioRxiv 484113 [preprint]. 1 12 2018.

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Authors
Velmeshev, D., Schirmer, L., Jung, D., Haeussler, M., Perez, Y., Mayer, S., Bhaduri, A., Goyal, N., Rowitch, D. H., & Kriegstein, A. R.
Affiliations
  • University of California, San Francisco (US)
  • University of California, Santa Cruz (US)
Corresponding author
  • Velmeshev, Dmitry
  • Kriegstein, Arnold R.
Venue
Science
Published
2019-05-17
Volume
364
Issue
6441
Pages
685-689
ISSN
  • 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
  • 1095-9203
OpenAlex
W2946016273
Cited by
927
References
27
Citations by year
2026: 110 · 2025: 131 · 2024: 150 · 2023: 147 · 2022: 138 · 2021: 117 · 2020: 113 · 2019: 18
FWCI
56.21
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
  • Apollo (University of Cambridge) (submittedVersion)
  • Apollo
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health (1U01MH114825-01)
  • National Human Genome Research Institute (4U41HG002371)
  • Simons Foundation (515488)
  • California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (GC1R-06673-C)
  • Silicon Valley Community Foundation (2018-182809)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder, single-nucleus RNA sequencing, neocortex, excitatory neurons, microglia, synaptic signaling, clinical severity, cell type-specific transcriptomics, cortical circuits
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Autistic Disorder, Cell Nucleus, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Gene Expression Regulation, Humans, Male, Neurons, Sequence Analysis, RNA, Microglia, Neocortex, Gene Expression Profiling, Genomics, Young Adult, Single-Cell Analysis

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