小柯机器人

美国耶鲁大学医学院Daniel A. Coln-Ramos研究组取得一项新突破。他们揭示了秀丽隐杆线虫神经鞘组装结构和发育原理。相关论文发表在2021年2月24日出版的《自然》杂志上。

他们使用称为“扩散凝聚” 的迭代数据粗粒度算法来识别秀丽隐杆线虫神经鞘的嵌套回路结构，这就是所谓的神经环。他们表明，神经环神经纤维主要组织成四个层，由相关的行为回路组成。Neuropil的分层结构是感觉信息和运动输出的功能隔离的几何表示，特定的感觉器官和肌肉象限映射到特定的神经鞘层。他们确定了具有独特形态的神经元组，这些形态整合了跨层的信息并创建了将结构笼罩在神经环内的神经结构。

他们使用高分辨率的光片显微镜结合谱系示踪和细胞示踪算法来解决发育序列，并揭示指导分层神经桩组织的细胞位置、迁移和生长的原理。他们的研究结果揭示了保守的结构设计原则，这些原则是神经环神经桩的结构和功能的基础，并揭示了基于先驱神经元的向外生长的时间进展，它指导了分层神经桩的分层发展。他们的发现为使用结构和发育方法了解脑内神经纤维组织提供了系统的蓝图。

研究人员表示，神经鞘是大脑内组织组织的基本形式，其中密密麻麻的神经元突触地相互连接成精确的环路结构。然而，控制这种纳米级精度的结构和发展原理仍是未知的。

附：英文原文

Title: Structural and developmental principles of neuropil assembly in C. elegans

Author: Mark W. Moyle, Kristopher M. Barnes, Manik Kuchroo, Alex Gonopolskiy, Leighton H. Duncan, Titas Sengupta, Lin Shao, Min Guo, Anthony Santella, Ryan Christensen, Abhishek Kumar, Yicong Wu, Kevin R. Moon, Guy Wolf, Smita Krishnaswamy, Zhirong Bao, Hari Shroff, William A. Mohler, Daniel A. Coln-Ramos

Issue&Volume: 2021-02-24

Abstract: Neuropil is a fundamental form of tissue organization within the brain1, in which densely packed neurons synaptically interconnect into precise circuit architecture2,3. However, the structural and developmental principles that govern this nanoscale precision remain largely unknown4,5. Here we use an iterative data coarse-graining algorithm termed ‘diffusion condensation’6 to identify nested circuit structures within the Caenorhabditis elegans neuropil, which is known as the nerve ring. We show that the nerve ring neuropil is largely organized into four strata that are composed of related behavioural circuits. The stratified architecture of the neuropil is a geometrical representation of the functional segregation of sensory information and motor outputs, with specific sensory organs and muscle quadrants mapping onto particular neuropil strata. We identify groups of neurons with unique morphologies that integrate information across strata and that create neural structures that cage the strata within the nerve ring. We use high resolution light-sheet microscopy7,8 coupled with lineage-tracing and cell-tracking algorithms9,10 to resolve the developmental sequence and reveal principles of cell position, migration and outgrowth that guide stratified neuropil organization. Our results uncover conserved structural design principles that underlie the architecture and function of the nerve ring neuropil, and reveal a temporal progression of outgrowth—based on pioneer neurons—that guides the hierarchical development of the layered neuropil. Our findings provide a systematic blueprint for using structural and developmental approaches to understand neuropil organization within the brain.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-03169-5

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-03169-5

Nature：《自然》，创刊于1869年。隶属于施普林格·自然出版集团，最新IF：69.504
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