Project description:The precise regulation of gene expression is fundamental to neurodevelopment, plasticity, and cognitive function. While several studies have profiled transcription in the developing human brain, there is a gap in our understanding of accompanying translational regulation. We performed ribosome profiling on 73 human prenatal and adult cortex samples. We characterized the translational regulation of annotated open reading frames (ORFs) and identified thousands of previously unknown translation events, including small ORFs that give rise to human- and/or brain-specific microproteins, many of which we independently verified using proteomics. Ribosome profiling in stem cell-derived human neuronal cultures corroborated these findings and revealed that several neuronal activity-induced non-coding RNAs encode previously undescribed microproteins. Physicochemical analysis of brain microproteins identified a class of proteins that contain arginine-glycine-glycine (RGG) repeats and thus may be regulators of RNA metabolism. This resource expands the known translational landscape of the human brain and illuminates previously unknown brain-specific protein products.
Project description:The precise regulation of gene expression is fundamental to neurodevelopment, plasticity, and cognitive function. While several studies have profiled transcription in the developing human brain, there is a gap in our understanding of accompanying translational regulation. We performed ribosome profiling on 73 human prenatal and adult cortex samples. We characterized the translational regulation of annotated open reading frames (ORFs) and identified thousands of previously unknown translation events, including small ORFs that give rise to human- and/or brain-specific microproteins, many of which we independently verified using proteomics. Ribosome profiling in stem cell-derived human neuronal cultures corroborated these findings and revealed that several neuronal activity-induced non-coding RNAs encode previously undescribed microproteins. Physicochemical analysis of brain microproteins identified a class of proteins that contain arginine-glycine-glycine (RGG) repeats and thus may be regulators of RNA metabolism. This resource expands the known translational landscape of the human brain and illuminates previously unknown brain-specific protein products.
Project description:<p>Developmental brain malformations are at the core of significant neurological diseases affecting many families in the United States and around the world. It is known that epilepsy, specific learning deficits and intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, and abnormalities of brain volume can be attributed in many cases to pathological malformations of the cerebral cortex. Although these consequences, such as epilepsy and intellectual disability, might appear broadly in the population as due to complex traits, this study's focus on those associated with cortical malformations highlights individual developmental pathways likely represented by innumerable and rare Mendelian alleles. Research has thus far uncovered dozens of genes responsible for these conditions and dissected the mechanisms underlying early cortical development in animals. However, this progress represents only the dawn of understanding the complex genetic network and neuronal architecture of the uniquely human cerebral cortex.</p> <p>The overall goal of this study is to define the genetic bases of human cerebral cortical development. This is accomplished through (1) the ascertainment of families with disorders of human brain development and malformation, (2) categorizing these using medical, physical and neuroimaging data, and (3) mapping and identifying the gene causing the disorder of cortical development, which can then be investigated for its normal expression and function, and role in human disease.</p>
Project description:<p>Developmental brain malformations are at the core of significant neurological diseases affecting many families in the United States and around the world. It is known that epilepsy, specific learning deficits and intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, and abnormalities of brain volume can be attributed in many cases to pathological malformations of the cerebral cortex. Although these consequences, such as epilepsy and intellectual disability, might appear broadly in the population as due to complex traits, this study's focus on those associated with cortical malformations highlights individual developmental pathways likely represented by innumerable and rare Mendelian alleles. Research has thus far uncovered dozens of genes responsible for these conditions and dissected the mechanisms underlying early cortical development in animals. However, this progress represents only the dawn of understanding the complex genetic network and neuronal architecture of the uniquely human cerebral cortex.</p> <p>The overall goal of this study is to define the genetic bases of human cerebral cortical development. This is accomplished through (1) the ascertainment of families with disorders of human brain development and malformation, (2) categorizing these using medical, physical and neuroimaging data, and (3) mapping and identifying the gene causing the disorder of cortical development, which can then be investigated for its normal expression and function, and role in human disease. </p>