Comparative analyses of regional and temporal transcriptomics of early human and mouse central nervous systems

The unique gene expression program driving early human brain development remains incompletely defined. In this study, we profile and compare transcriptomes of human and mouse embryo central nervous system (CNS) across Carnegie stages (CS) 11-14, a critical window spanning neural tube closure to early brain regionalization, including 4 CNS regions at CS13-14. Our analysis reveals that human CNS is less mature than mouse CNS at CS13-14. Extracellular matrix (ECM) organization/structure emerges as the most divergent biological process, underscoring species-specific ECM roles in early CNS development. Co-expression module analysis reveals CS14 as the most conserved stage, CS12-13 as the most divergent, and CS11 as encompassing both conserved and species-specific events. Early spinal cord development shares regulatory mechanisms between species. This study uncovers previously unrecognized spatiotemporal/species-specific gene expression features, offering a valuable resource for Alzheimer's disease (AD) developmental origin research and highlighting ECM pathways as promising regenerative medicine targets.