Single-cell atlas of transcriptomic vulnerability across brain disorders

Abstract

Abstract Neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases impose a considerable societal and public health burden. However, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying these highly complex conditions remains limited 1,2 . Here, to gain deeper insights into the aetiology of different brain diseases, we used specimens from 1,494 unique donors to generate a population-scale single-cell transcriptomic atlas of the human dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, comprising over 6.3 million individual nuclei. The cohort includes neurotypical controls, as well as donors affected by eight common and complex brain disorders: Alzheimer’s disease (AD), diffuse Lewy body disease (DLBD), vascular dementia (Vas), Parkinson’s disease (PD), tauopathy, frontotemporal dementia, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. We show that interindividual variation accounts for a substantial portion of gene expression variation. By comparing transcriptomic variation across diseases, we reveal universal signatures enriched in basic cellular functions such as mRNA processing and protein localization. After discounting these cross-disease signatures, we show stronger genetic and transcriptomic concordance among AD, DLBD, Vas and PD. Furthermore, we characterize transcriptomic variation among different AD phenotypes, distinct from those observed in healthy ageing, revealing a reduction in neuronal abundance in individuals with more severe AD, coupled with an increase in immune and vascular cell populations. Exploring the neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) that frequently accompany AD, we find an increased abundance of deep-layer excitatory neurons associated with a broad range of NPSs. By constructing transcriptome trajectories that capture AD progression, we implicate cell-type-specific responses in the early and late stages of AD. Our disease atlas provides a perspective of the transcriptomic landscape in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders, shedding light on shared and distinct processes involving the neurological–immune–vascular systems, and identifying potential targets for therapeutic intervention.