Species-specific Maturation Profiles of Human, Chimpanzee and Bonobo Neural Cells

Overview

Journal Elife

Specialty Biology

Date 2019 Feb 8

PMID 30730291

Citations 56

Authors

Maria C Marchetto

Branka Hrvoj-Mihic

Bilal E Kerman

Diana X Yu

Krishna C Vadodaria

Sara B Linker

Inigo Narvaiza

Renata Santos

Ahmet M Denli

Ana Pd Mendes

Ruth Oefner

Jonathan Cook

Lauren McHenry

Jaeson M Grasmick

Kelly Heard

Callie Fredlender

Lynne Randolph-Moore

Rijul Kshirsagar

Rea Xenitopoulos

Grace Chou

Nasun Hah

Alysson R Muotri

Krishnan Padmanabhan

Katerina Semendeferi

Fred H Gage

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Comparative analyses of neuronal phenotypes in closely related species can shed light on neuronal changes occurring during evolution. The study of post-mortem brains of nonhuman primates (NHPs) has been limited and often does not recapitulate important species-specific developmental hallmarks. We utilize induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology to investigate the development of cortical pyramidal neurons following migration and maturation of cells grafted in the developing mouse cortex. Our results show differential migration patterns in human neural progenitor cells compared to those of chimpanzees and bonobos both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting heterochronic changes in human neurons. The strategy proposed here lays the groundwork for further comparative analyses between humans and NHPs and opens new avenues for understanding the differences in the neural underpinnings of cognition and neurological disease susceptibility between species.

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