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Mouse brain maps route to understanding human disease
Sources: Eurekalert, HealthCanal
Researchers using the new sequencing technology, RNA-seq, have created a detailed map of the mouse brain, laying the ground for developing existing maps of the human brain (see previous news). The genome-wide atlas, the result of a collaboration between the US’s National Human Genome Research Institute and Oxford University, provides unprecedented detail of over 11,000 genes across the six layers of the mouse cerebral cortex. In humans this is the region responsible for memory, sensory perception and language.
The map shows that gene activity may vary across different layers, suggesting areas where specific genes, for example those connected to Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s, play important roles.“These are correlations, not necessarily causal”, said T. Grant Belgard, lead author of the published paper “but they do suggest directions for future research.” Next year, Belgard and others will attempt to replicate the mouse brain atlas for parts of the human brain. The new resource is freely available at http://genserv.anat.ox.ac.uk/layers