Project description:Adults and children with the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) demonstrate cognitive, social and emotional impairments and markedly increased risk for schizophrenia (SCZ). The alterations in early human brain development resulting from this deletion remain unclear. Here we use organoid models of the developing human cerebral cortex derived from patients with 22q11.2DS and SCZ as well as unaffected controls to identify cell-type-specific developmental abnormalities that result from this genomic lesion. Using RNA-sequencing and follow-up experimental validation we find that loss of genes within the 22q11.2 locus leads to delayed development of cortical neurons.
Project description:Adults and children with the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) demonstrate cognitive, social and emotional impairments and markedly increased risk for schizophrenia (SCZ). The alterations in early human brain development resulting from this deletion remain unclear. Here we use organoid models of the developing human cerebral cortex derived from patients with 22q11.2DS and SCZ as well as unaffected controls to identify cell-type-specific developmental abnormalities that result from this genomic lesion. Using RNA-sequencing and follow-up experimental validation we find that loss of genes within the 22q11.2 locus leads to delayed development of cortical neurons.
Project description:Adults and children with the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) demonstrate cognitive, social and emotional impairments and markedly increased risk for schizophrenia (SCZ). The alterations in early human brain development resulting from this deletion remain unclear. Here we use organoid models of the developing human cerebral cortex derived from patients with 22q11.2DS and SCZ as well as unaffected controls to identify cell-type-specific developmental abnormalities that result from this genomic lesion. Using RNA-sequencing and follow-up experimental validation we find that loss of genes within the 22q11.2 locus leads to delayed development of cortical neurons.
Project description:22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is a common cause of developmental neuropsychiatric disorders, including psychosis, autism and epilepsy. This highly penetrant genetic syndrome provides a unique opportunity to mitigate the challenges raised by the heterogeneity of complex mental disorders and to identify specific neuronal phenotypes. Here, we generated induced pluripotent stem cells from subjects carrying a 3 Mb deletion at the 22q11.2 locus and from controls and differentiated these cells in vitro into three-dimensional organoid resembling the developing cerebral cortex. We performed single-cell RNA-sequencing to establish the reliability and reproducibility of cortical organoid differentiation in 22q11DS.
Project description:Dysfunction of the thalamocortical pathway has been implicated in multiple psychiatric disorders, but mechanisms by which these defects emerge remain poorly understood. We explored this question in the context of the 22q11.2 microdeletion, which represents a significant genetic risk for schizophrenia, leveraging emerging technologies of in vitro brain organogenesis using chimeric brain organoids derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells. Here we show that the 22q11.2 microdeletion leads to transcriptional dysregulation in thalamic organoids that is enriched for psychiatric disease risk genes, including elevated expression of FOXP2, which represents the most significantly dysregulated transcription factor in glutamatergic neurons and astroctyes. In a co-culture model fusing thalamic and cortical organoids, we demonstrate that the 22q11.2 deletion mediates an overgrowth of thalamic axons via overexpression of FOXP2, which then subsequently mediates the overgrowth of reciprocal corticothalamic axons. Dysregulation of FOXP2 leads to downregulation of ROBO2, an axon repulsive receptor important for thalamocortical axon pathfinding, and knockdown of ROBO2 in control organoids phenocopies excessive outgrowth of thalamic axons. Together, our study suggests that early steps in thalamocortical pathway development may be dysregulated in a model of genetic risk for schizophrenia, and contribute to neural phenotypes in 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome.
Project description:Aberrant pace of cortical neuron development in brain organoids from patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and schizophrenia. [miRNA-Seq]
Project description:Aberrant pace of cortical neuron development in brain organoids from patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and schizophrenia. [scRNA-Seq]