Paper Review

The claustrum is a small, mysterious part of the brain which has long been implicated in consciousness, attention, and cognitive processing. However, its spatial cellular distribution and how it connects to other brain areas, particularly in primates like macaques, have been unclear.

A new study, published in Cell, titled “Single-cell spatial transcriptome atlas and whole-brain connectivity of the macaque claustrum” used advanced techniques, including single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) and Stereo-seq – high resolution spatial whole transcriptome profiling technology - to create a detailed map of the macaque claustrum. It identified 48 cell types, including glutamatergic, GABAergic, and non-neuronal cells. The team utilized retrograde tracer injections at 171 strategically selected cortical and subcortical sites to map the brain-wide connectivity of the claustrum. This comprehensive connectivity analysis delineated four distinct projection-selective zones, each characterized by preferential connections with specific functional networks including prefrontal, visual, memory-related, and motor areas. Comparisons across macaque, marmoset, and mice highlighted species-specific differences, providing new insights into brain evolution.

This study offers a comprehensive cellular and molecular atlas of the claustrum, a resource that could help scientists study brain evolution, consciousness, and cognitive disorders. For researchers and clinicians, it opens new avenues for understanding how the claustrum works and could even inspire AI models of brain networks. The data is accessible at https://macaque.digital-brain.cn/claustrum.

In this paper, Stereo-seq was used to generate a single-cell spatial transcriptome map of the macaque claustrum, showing its role in cell-type annotation, spatial distribution analysis, and connectivity mapping provided a foundation for understanding the claustrum’s role in brain function, with potential applications in neuroscience. The process began with tissue collection from two cynomolgus monkeys, where coronal sections of the claustrum were prepared and mounted on Stereo-seq chips of varying sizes (e.g.,5 cm × 3 cm, 1 cm × 2 cm, or 1 cm × 1 cm).

Find out more about the research: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.02.037

About STOmics Stereo-seq:

STOmics Stereo-seq Transcriptomics for Large Chip Designs (LCD) offers 3 different Stereo-seq chip sizes (1cm x 2cm, 2cm x 2cm, 2cm x 3cm), pioneering the whole transcriptome study for large tissue sections. Compatible for different species (fresh frozen/FF samples), it enables a “tissue-to-data” solution through in situ capture of the whole transcriptome, at single-cell resolution and centimeter-level field of view. STOmics also provides customized chip sizes (such as 3cm x 5cm) fitting different researchers.  https://en.stomics.tech/products/stereo-seq-transcriptomics-large-chip-design/list.html

#Biology #Spatialbiology #Spatialtranscriptomics #singlecell #claustrum #brain #neuroscience #STOmics #Stereoseq #largechip