Novel single ‐nucleus transcriptomics unravels developmental and functionally controlled principles of mammalian neuromuscular junctions

Motoneurons reach out to muscles, form neuromuscular junctions and release the neurotransmitter acetylcholine at these junctions to ignite their activities. However, which genes are activated to make that happen, and where and when in the course of neuromuscular development do they exert their activities remains incompletely understood. These are the issues handled in the innovative Ohno manuscript. AbstractProf Ohno's team (Ohkawara et al. 2023, current issue) underscored the dynamic and functional features that co-shape the embryonic and early post-natal development of mammalian neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) using single-nucleus transcriptomics which provides specific insights into the activities of individually studied nuclei and their functional characteristics. Unlike other single-nucleus transcriptomics studies, which tend to be limited to single developmental time points, this article provides novel views of the complex developmental and regulatory dynamics and embryonic cell type origins underscoring the formation of functioning mammalian NMJs by combining this transcriptomic approach with interference tests in cultured C2C12 myotubes. This reveals intriguing novel links between the particular nicotinic acetylcholine receptor genes (nAChR) and regulator transcripts thereof and enables outlining the sequential development of functioning NMJs along embryogenesis and soon after delivery. Specifically, the timewise and cell type origins of the studied nuclei emerged as e...
Source: Journal of Neurochemistry - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Tags: EDITORIAL Source Type: research