美国哈佛大学Catherine Dulac小组的最新研究提出了感觉输入、性别和功能决定下丘脑细胞类型的发育。相关论文于2025年3月5日发表于国际顶尖学术期刊《自然》杂志上。

该研究组以配对转录组学和染色质可及性分析为主题，研究了下丘脑视前区神经元群的发育轨迹，其中已经确定了在生理和行为控制中起关键作用的细胞类型。这些数据表明，动物的性别、相应细胞类型的位置和行为或生理功能塑造了发育轨迹的显著多样性。研究人员确定了视前发育的关键阶段，包括早期多样化，围产期性别差异的出现，出生后信号网络的成熟和完善，以及在断奶和青春期加速的非线性转录变化。

该研究团队评估了各种感觉突变体的视前发育，并发现犁鼻感觉在视前细胞类型成熟的时间中起主要作用。这些结果为控制体内平衡功能和社会行为的神经元的发育提供了新的见解，并为研究这些功能在生命早期的动态奠定了基础。

研究人员表示，哺乳动物的行为和生理在生命早期发生重大变化。幼年动物依靠同种动物来满足自己的需求，并分别在断奶和青春期开始表现出营养独立性和性别特异性的社会互动。调节体内平衡功能和社会行为的神经元群如何在这些转变中发展尚不清楚。

附：英文原文

Title: Sensory input, sex and function shape hypothalamic cell type development

Author: Kaplan, Harris S., Logeman, Brandon L., Zhang, Kai, Yawitz, Tate A., Santiago, Celine, Sohail, Noor, Talay, Mustafa, Seo, Changwoo, Naumenko, Serhiy, Ho Sui, Shannan J., Ginty, David D., Ren, Bing, Dulac, Catherine

Issue&Volume: 2025-03-05

Abstract: Mammalian behaviour and physiology undergo major changes in early life. Young animals rely on conspecifics to meet their needs and start showing nutritional independence and sex-specific social interactions at weaning and puberty, respectively. How neuronal populations regulating homeostatic functions and social behaviours develop during these transitions remains unclear. We used paired transcriptomic and chromatin accessibility profiling to examine the developmental trajectories of neuronal populations in the hypothalamic preoptic region, where cell types with key roles in physiological and behavioural control have been identified1,2,3,4,5,6. These data show a marked diversity of developmental trajectories shaped by the sex of the animal, and the location and behavioural or physiological function of the corresponding cell types. We identify key stages of preoptic development, including early diversification, perinatal emergence of sex differences, postnatal maturation and refinement of signalling networks, and nonlinear transcriptional changes accelerating at the time of weaning and puberty. We assessed preoptic development in various sensory mutants and find a major role for vomeronasal sensing in the timing of preoptic cell type maturation. These results provide new insights into the development of neurons controlling homeostatic functions and social behaviours and lay ground for examining the dynamics of these functions in early life.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08603-0

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08603-0