Mesoscale molecular architecture of the human striatum across cell types and lifespan.
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| Abstract | The human striatum is a central hub for a diverse array of motor, cognitive, and affective behaviors, yet it lacks obvious cytoarchitectural boundaries that define functional territories. Here, we uncover a robust and molecularly defined mesoscale architecture in the human striatum. Using Slide-tags, a scalable single-nucleus spatial transcriptomics technology, we profiled 1.1 million cells across the full span of the anterior striatum of 19 postmortem donors, spatially mapping all striatal populations. Our data uncover a natural subdivision of the striatum into six zones, each defined by molecularly distinct populations of medium spiny neurons, and featuring spatially coordinated neuron-astrocyte signaling. Relative to MSNs in ventral zones, MSNs in dorsal zones exhibit higher expression of genes for synaptic remodeling and plasticity via ephrin and TGF-beta, while the ventral zone is defined by greater expression of semaphorin, protein chaperone, and hedgehog signaling pathways. By imputing zonal identities onto a larger single-nucleus RNA-seq cohort of 131 donors, we find that the dorsal zones exhibit greater age-related transcriptional changes, and that overall, the gene-expression differences that define spatial zonation patterns are attenuated with advancing age. This atlas provides a mesoscale molecular definition of human striatal anatomy, linking cell type identity to functional specialization and aging susceptibility. |
| Year of Publication | 2026
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| Journal | bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
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| Date Published | 03/2026
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| ISSN | 2692-8205
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| DOI | 10.64898/2026.03.04.709715
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| PubMed ID | 41846979
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