Single-cell genomics identifies cell type–specific molecular changes in autism

Abstract

Brain cell transcriptomes in autism Autism manifests in many ways. Despite that diversity, the disorder seems to affect specific cellular pathways, including those observed in the neocortex of patients' brains. Velmeshev et al. analyzed the transcriptomes of single brain cells, including neurons and glia, from patients with autism. Single-nucleus RNA sequencing analysis suggested that affected pathways regulate synapse function as well as neural outgrowth and migration. Furthermore, in patient samples, specific sets of genes enriched in upper-layer projection neurons and microglia correlated with clinical severity. Science , this issue p. 685