Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37217978›Full record

ArticleActa neuropathologica communications2023

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

Luise A Seeker, Nadine Bestard-Cuche, Sarah Jäkel, Nina-Lydia Kazakou, Sunniva M K Bøstrand, Laura J Wagstaff, Justyna Cholewa-Waclaw, Alastair M Kilpatrick, David Van Bruggen, Mukund Kabbe and 7 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Acta neuropathologica communications, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
34citing papers in PubMed
6.1field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

34 citing papers in PubMed, 51 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
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  10. Genomic insights into substance use and disinhibitory disorders.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026
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  13. Human Brain Cell-Type-Specific Aging Clocks Based on Single-Nuclei Transcriptomics.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025
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  15. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors at 5 institutions in 5 countries.

Luise A SeekerCentre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, Edinburgh Bioquarter, University of Edinburgh, 5 Little France Drive, Edinburgh, EH16 4UU, UK.
Nadine Bestard-CucheCentre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, Edinburgh Bioquarter, University of Edinburgh, 5 Little France Drive, Edinburgh, EH16 4UU, UK.
Sarah JäkelCentre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, Edinburgh Bioquarter, University of Edinburgh, 5 Little France Drive, Edinburgh, EH16 4UU, UK.
Nina-Lydia KazakouCentre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, Edinburgh Bioquarter, University of Edinburgh, 5 Little France Drive, Edinburgh, EH16 4UU, UK.
Sunniva M K BøstrandCentre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, Edinburgh Bioquarter, University of Edinburgh, 5 Little France Drive, Edinburgh, EH16 4UU, UK.
Laura J WagstaffCentre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, Edinburgh Bioquarter, University of Edinburgh, 5 Little France Drive, Edinburgh, EH16 4UU, UK.
Justyna Cholewa-WaclawCentre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, Edinburgh Bioquarter, University of Edinburgh, 5 Little France Drive, Edinburgh, EH16 4UU, UK.
Alastair M KilpatrickCentre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, Edinburgh Bioquarter, University of Edinburgh, 5 Little France Drive, Edinburgh, EH16 4UU, UK.
David Van BruggenLaboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden.
Mukund KabbeLaboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden.
Fabio Baldivia PohlLaboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden.
Zahra MoslehiLaboratory of Neurodevelopmental Systems Biology, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Neil C HendersonCentre for Inflammation Research, The Queen's Medical Research Institute, Edinburgh BioQuarter, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Catalina A VallejosMRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, Western General Hospital, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK.
Gioele La MannoLaboratory of Neurodevelopmental Systems Biology, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Goncalo Castelo-BrancoLaboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden.
Anna WilliamsCentre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, Edinburgh Bioquarter, University of Edinburgh, 5 Little France Drive, Edinburgh, EH16 4UU, UK. anna.williams@ed.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0002-6329-382X
MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine · GBKarolinska Institutet · SEÉcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne · CHTuring Institute · GBWestern General Hospital · GB

Funding

British Heart Foundation RE/18/5/34216Medical Research Council CZF2019-002427
6 · The paper itself

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.

Indexed as

NeurogliaWhite MatterAnimalsFemaleHumansMaleMiceMyelin SheathOligodendrogliaSpinal CordAgeingDevelopmental originHuman gliaMyelinOPCsSpinal cord

Identifiers

PMID37217978
PMCPMC10204264
OpenAlexW4377288030

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.