Biology subjects

Herrera-Oropeza, G.

Publications and source records attributed to Herrera-Oropeza, G..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Dlx2 reprograms the transcriptome and laminar position of glia-derivedAscl1-induced interneurons

Direct lineage reprogramming of glial cells into neurons offers a promising strategy to repair diseased brain circuits, but engineering defined neuronal subtypes remains challenging. We found that a phospho-site-deficient Ascl1 variant, Ascl1SA6, but not wildtype Ascl1, induces hallmarks of parvalbumin fast-spiking interneurons, raising the question of how closely these induced neurons resemble canonical cortical interneurons and what transcriptional events underlie this process. Single-cell transcriptomic analysis revealed that Ascl1SA6-induced neurons only partially recapitulated canonical interneuron programs and failed to induce the transcription factor Dlx2 and its downstream targets. Co-expression of Dlx2 with Ascl1SA6 restored a more canonical interneuron-like transcriptome, including genes involved in migration, and resulted in neurons occupying laminar positions more typical of endogenous interneurons. These findings provide molecular insights into how Ascl1 posttranslational modifications regulate its transcriptional activity and demonstrate a strategy to engineer induced cortical interneurons that more closely resemble their native counterparts, offering a framework for layer-specific restoration of inhibitory circuits in neurological diseases.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Spatially organized cellular communities shape functional tissue architecture in the pancreas

Organ function depends on the precise spatial organization of cells across multiple scales, from individual cells to cellular communities that form specialized local niches and, ultimately, complex higher-order structures. While the identities of individual cell are increasingly well-defined, our understanding of how these diverse cell types are spatially distributed and communicate remains incomplete. In this study, we combine single-cell and spatial transcriptomic analyses to map pancreatic cell populations across space and time, from embryonic development to adult homeostasis in mice. Using these comprehensive maps, we systematically resolve spatial heterogeneity among pancreatic cell types and uncover basic tissue niches, which emerge as epithelial-mesenchymal units. We further characterize these niches functionally in both mouse and human models. We demonstrate that the mesenchymal lineage initially diversifies into various subtypes with specialized supportive roles during embryonic development. However, this complexity gradually diminishes over time, ultimately converging into a limited number of fibroblast sub-types in adult tissue. Our findings shed light on how different progenitor lineages co-develop and organize into structured communities that establish a mature, functional pancreas. This foundational framework could inform strategies for in vitro organogenesis and tissue-engineering in the context of pancreatic diseases.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Multi-scale spatial mapping of cell populations across anatomical sites in healthy human skin and basal cell carcinoma

Our understanding of how human skin cells differ according to anatomical site and tumour formation is limited. To address this we have created a multi-scale spatial atlas of healthy skin and basal cell carcinoma (BCC), incorporating in vivo optical coherence tomography, single cell RNA sequencing, spatial global transcriptional profiling and in situ sequencing. Computational spatial deconvolution and projection revealed the localisation of distinct cell populations to specific tissue contexts. Although cell populations were conserved between healthy anatomical sites and in BCC, mesenchymal cell populations including fibroblasts and pericytes retained signatures of developmental origin. Spatial profiling and in silico lineage tracing support a hair follicle origin for BCC and demonstrate that cancer-associated fibroblasts are an expansion of a POSTN+ subpopulation associated with hair follicles in healthy skin. RGS5+ pericytes are also expanded in BCC suggesting a role in vascular remodelling. We propose that the identity of mesenchymal cell populations is regulated by signals emanating from adjacent structures and that these signals are repurposed to promote the expansion of skin cancer stroma. The resource we have created is publicly available in an interactive format for the research community. Significance statementSingle cells RNA sequencing has revolutionised cell biology, enabling high resolution analysis of cell types and states within human tissues. Here, we report a comprehensive spatial atlas of adult human skin across different anatomical sites and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) - the most common form of skin cancer - encompassing in vivo optical coherence tomography, single cell RNA sequencing, global spatial transcriptomic profiling and in situ sequencing. In combination these modalities have allowed us to assemble a comprehensive nuclear-resolution atlas of cellular identity in health and disease.

cell biology↗