Brain matters: unveiling the distinct contributions of region, age, and sex to glia diversity and CNS function

The myelinated white matter tracts of the central nervous system (CNS) are essential for fast transmission of electrical impulses and are often differentially affected in human neurodegenerative diseases across CNS region, age and sex. We hypothesize that this selective vulnerability is underpinned by physiological variation in white matter glia. Using single nucleus RNA sequencing of human post-mortem white matter samples from the brain, cerebellum and spinal cord and subsequent tissue-based validation we found substantial glial heterogeneity with tissue region: we identified region-specific oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) that retain developmental origin markers into adulthood, distinguishing them from mouse OPCs. Region-specific OPCs give rise to similar oligodendrocyte populations, however spinal cord oligodendrocytes exhibit markers such as SKAP2 which are associated with increased myelin production and we found a spinal cord selective population particularly equipped for producing long and thick myelin sheaths based on the expression of genes/proteins such as HCN2. Spinal cord microglia exhibit a more activated phenotype compared to brain microglia, suggesting that the spinal cord is a more pro-inflammatory environment, a difference that intensifies with age. Astrocyte gene expression correlates strongly with CNS region, however, astrocytes do not show a more activated state with region or age. Across all glia, sex differences are subtle but the consistent increased expression of protein-folding genes in male donors hints at pathways that may contribute to sex differences in disease susceptibility. These findings are essential to consider for understanding selective CNS pathologies and developing tailored therapeutic strategies

Microglia regulate myelin growth and integrity in the central nervous system

Myelin is required for the function of neuronal axons in the central nervous system, but the mechanisms that support myelin health are unclear. Although macrophages in the central nervous system have been implicated in myelin health(1), it is unknown which macrophage populations are involved and which aspects they influence. Here we show that resident microglia are crucial for the maintenance of myelin health in adulthood in both mice and humans. We demonstrate that microglia are dispensable for developmental myelin ensheathment. However, they are required for subsequent regulation of myelin growth and associated cognitive function, and for preservation of myelin integrity by preventing its degeneration. We show that loss of myelin health due to the absence of microglia is associated with the appearance of a myelinating oligodendrocyte state with altered lipid metabolism. Moreover, this mechanism is regulated through disruption of the TGFβ1–TGFβR1 axis. Our findings highlight microglia as promising therapeutic targets for conditions in which myelin growth and integrity are dysregulated, such as in ageing and neurodegenerative disease(2,3)

Optimización de ensayos de quimiosensibilidad en células primarias de neoplasias hematológicas

[spa] Para aportar tratamientos individualizados en terapias antitumorales es de gran utilidad el estudio de la respuesta de las células del paciente, en cultivos ex vivo, a los posibles fármacos que se le pueden suministrar. Esto es de especial interés en neoplasias hematológicas en que la obtención de células primarias se puede realizar por procedimientos poco invasivos. En este trabajo se ha llevado a cabo el estudio de la posible aplicabilidad de los ensayos ex vivo como método para obtener un valor predictivo de la respuesta clínica con células primarias de un paciente de leucemia mieloide aguda (AML) y de un paciente de linfoma de células del manto (MCL). En las primeras no se han podido obtener datos concluyentes dado la baja viabilidad de las células tras su descongelación. En las de MCL se observó una sensibilidad elevada a uno de los fármacos del régimen GEMOX-R, con el que el paciente había sido tratado, lo que se correlaciona con su remisión con el tratamiento. Sin embargo, hay variabilidad en el comportamiento de las células tras cada descongelación por lo que aún es necesario realizar más estudios para optimizar el método.[eng] To provide individualized treatments in antitumor therapies, it is of great interest to study the cells’ response to different drugs options in ex vivo assays, specially in hematological malignancies in which the obtention of primary cells does not require invasive interventions. In this final degree project, the possible application of ex vivo assays as a good predictive marker was studied through the analysis of AML and MCL primary cells’ response. We could not obtain conclusive data from the AML study due to the low viability of cells after the thawing process. On the other hand, MCL primary cells were sensible to one of the drugs from the GEMOX-R regimen, with which the patient had been treated achieving complete remission. However, the behaviour of the cells was not consistent between experiments, so more studies are needed for optimising the method

Brain matters: unveiling the distinct contributions of region, age, and sex to glia diversity and CNS function

Abstract The myelinated white matter tracts of the central nervous system (CNS) are essential for fast transmission of electrical impulses and are often differentially affected in human neurodegenerative diseases across CNS region, age and sex. We hypothesize that this selective vulnerability is underpinned by physiological variation in white matter glia. Using single nucleus RNA sequencing of human post-mortem white matter samples from the brain, cerebellum and spinal cord and subsequent tissue-based validation we found substantial glial heterogeneity with tissue region: we identified region-specific oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) that retain developmental origin markers into adulthood, distinguishing them from mouse OPCs. Region-specific OPCs give rise to similar oligodendrocyte populations, however spinal cord oligodendrocytes exhibit markers such as SKAP2 which are associated with increased myelin production and we found a spinal cord selective population particularly equipped for producing long and thick myelin sheaths based on the expression of genes/proteins such as HCN2. Spinal cord microglia exhibit a more activated phenotype compared to brain microglia, suggesting that the spinal cord is a more pro-inflammatory environment, a difference that intensifies with age. Astrocyte gene expression correlates strongly with CNS region, however, astrocytes do not show a more activated state with region or age. Across all glia, sex differences are subtle but the consistent increased expression of protein-folding genes in male donors hints at pathways that may contribute to sex differences in disease susceptibility. These findings are essential to consider for understanding selective CNS pathologies and developing tailored therapeutic strategies