ISSN 1662-4009 (online)

ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology (2022) 19 1.1 | DOI: 10.1530/ey.19.1.1


Cell Stem Cell. 2022 Feb 3;29(2):328-343.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2021.11.009. PMID: 34879244.

Brief Summary: By applying single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to 112,376 cells of human hypothalamus ranging from 7–20 gestational weeks (GW7–20), the authors produced a spatiotemporal transcriptome atlas of human hypothalamus development and revealed critical regulatory genes controlling the cell-fate decisions of neuroepithelial cells and neural progenitors.

The hypothalamic regulation of endocrine, autonomic, and behavioural functions depend on various cell types and nuclei. However, developmental characterization of the human hypothalamus has been less investigated.

This work generated scRNA-seq dataset based on human hypothalamus cells ranging from 7-20 gestational weeks (GW7-20), which illustrated spatiotemporal transcriptional characteristics of cell types and their differentiation lineage in developing human hypothalamus. These results showed that early neuroepithelium and progenitors at different hypothalamus locations with distinctive potential cell fates show molecular heterogeneity and that cell fate might be determined as early as at GW7. The authors identified the regulator genes controlling the cell-fate (gliogenic or neurogenic) determination of neural progenitors, figured out the temporal windows and spatial ordering for the formation of different nuclei in the human hypothalamus, and revealed molecular diversification of arcuate nucleus neuron subpopulations. In addition, they investigated the divergence or consistency of cell-type relationships in human and mice, and found that the human hypothalamic gliogenesis occurs at an earlier stage of gestation and displays distinctive transcription profiles compared with those in mice. Notably, early oligodendrocyte cells in humans exhibit different gene patterns and interact with neuronal cells to regulate neuronal maturation by Wnt, Hippo, and integrin signals. This scRNA-seq dataset from developing human hypothalamus provides a deep understanding of the mechanisms of cellular network organization, circuit formation, and hypothalamic dysfunction.

Article tools

My recent searches

No recent searches.