The vasculature in the central nervous system has important roles in development (for example, supporting the correct migration of neuronal and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells) and in different pathologies (including brain tumours, traumatic injuries, and neurodegenerative diseases). Despite the fundamental importance of the neurovasculature, we have a limited systematic understanding of it. In a paper published in Nature, Wälchli, Ghobrial et al. present a comprehensive cellular and molecular atlas of the human brain vasculature in development and disease. They performed single-cell RNA sequencing analysis on fetal and adult brains and peripheral vascular and tissue samples from healthy individuals and donors with brain vascular malformations and tumors. The authors extrapolated a wealth of information, including the recapitulation of developmental programs in brain endothelial cell (EC) tumors; fundamental characterization of arteriovenous zonation and EC proliferation and transition states; molecular differences between brain and peripheral ECs; and putative cell–cell interactions among ECs and between ECs and perivascular cells (PVCs), microglia and macrophages, oligodendrocytes, and tumor cells. In summary, Wälchli, Ghobrial and colleagues provide a cellular and molecular atlas of the human vasculature and the organizational principles of the ECs and PVCs that comprise it.

Original reference: Nature 632, 603–613 (2024)

中枢神经系统中的脉管系统在发育（例如，支持神经元和少突胶质细胞祖细胞的正确迁移）和不同病理（包括脑肿瘤、创伤性损伤和神经退行性疾病）中发挥重要作用。尽管神经脉管系统具有根本重要性，但我们对它的系统了解有限。在《自然》杂志上发表的一篇论文中，Wälchli、Ghobrial 等人。呈现了人类大脑脉管系统发育和疾病的全面细胞和分子图谱。他们对来自健康个体和患有脑血管畸形和肿瘤的捐赠者的胎儿和成人大脑以及外周血管和组织样本进行了单细胞RNA测序分析。作者推断出大量信息，包括脑内皮细胞 (EC) 肿瘤发育程序的概括；动静脉分区和 EC 增殖和过渡状态的基本特征；大脑和外周 EC 之间的分子差异；以及 EC 之间以及 EC 与血管周围细胞 (PVC)、小胶质细胞和巨噬细胞、少突胶质细胞和肿瘤细胞之间假定的细胞间相互作用。总之，Wälchli、Ghobrial 及其同事提供了人类脉管系统的细胞和分子图谱以及构成它的 EC 和 PVC 的组织原理。

原始参考文献： Nature 632 , 603–613 (2024)