Search bioRxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.09.07.749916

Comparative transcriptomic analysis reveals conserved injury responses and divergent molecular responses underlying early regenerative competence following traumatic brain injury

Ghosh, P.·Hui, S. P.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Abstract Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of mortality and long term neurological disability worldwide. Adult mammals have limited regenerative capacity following central nervous system (CNS) injury, but zebrafish have a remarkable regenerative potential, providing an opportunity to identify molecular mechanisms associated with successful CNS repair. Methods: We have integrated publicly available acute phase TBI transcriptomic datasets from human, mouse, rat, and zebrafish studies published up to April 2026. Differential expression data were combined using restricted maximum likelihood (REML) based random effects meta analysis to account for biological and technical heterogeneity. Following ortholog mapping, we compared conserved injury responses with transcriptional programmes preferentially enhanced in zebrafish. Results: The acute molecular response to TBI is largely conserved across vertebrate species with predominant activation of cell cycle regulation, chromosome segregation, and interferon-mediated immune signalling genes. A conserved injury-responsive gene set further highlighted enrichment of mitotic and JAK-STAT signalling. In contrast, 54 zebrafish-enhanced genes displayed preferential activation of wound healing, extracellular matrix remodelling, integrin mediated signalling, and regulated immune responses. Protein protein interaction analysis identified STAT1, STAT3, FN1, CD44, ANXA2, and AXL as central hub genes connecting these injury and repair associated responses. Conclusions: Our study suggest that successful CNS regeneration is not driven by unique injury pathways but rather by coordinated modulation of conserved injury responses and additional molecular programmes that promote tissue remodelling and repair. These regeneration associated networks provide potential targets for future functional studies and may contribute to the development of regenerative therapeutic strategies for traumatic brain injury.

Explore related subjects

neurosciencePreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Ghosh, P., Hui, S. P.. 2026-09-14. Comparative transcriptomic analysis reveals conserved injury responses and divergent molecular responses underlying early regenerative competence following traumatic brain injury. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.07.749916

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

Functional validation of allele-specific LMNB1 silencing in patient-derived astrocytes as a therapeutic option for Autosomal Dominant Leukodystrophy

Adult-onset Autosomal Dominant Leukodystrophy (ADLD) is a rare fatal leukodystrophy caused by increased LMNB1 gene dosage, most commonly resulting from duplication of the LMNB1 locus. Because ADLD is a gene dosage disorder, selective reduction of pathological LMNB1 expression represents a rational therapeutic strategy. Although allele-specific RNA interference has previously been shown to lower LMNB1 levels in patient-derived fibroblasts and directly reprogrammed neurons, its therapeutic effects have not been evaluated in disease-relevant human glial cells or using functional efficacy endpoints. Here, we established human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived astrocytes from ADLD patients as a human glial model in which to validate allele-specific LMNB1 silencing across molecular, cellular, and functional readouts. ADLD astrocytes recapitulated increased LMNB1 expression and characteristic nuclear abnormalities and displayed transcriptional alterations affecting extracellular matrix organization, calcium homeostasis, metabolism and RNA processing. Functionally, these cells also exhibited functional phenotypes suitable for therapeutic evaluation: astrocyte-conditioned medium impaired the viability of both murine and human oligodendroglial cultures, while conditioned-medium and direct astrocyte-seeding paradigms revealed impaired post-lesion myelin recovery in lysolecithin-treated cerebellar organotypic slices. Allele-specific LMNB1 silencing restored physiological LMNB1 levels, corrected nuclear abnormalities, attenuated astrocyte-mediated oligodendroglial toxicity, improved post-lesion myelin recovery, and was associated with selective transcriptional programs associated with extracellular support and cholesterol metabolism. Together, these findings provide molecular, cellular, and functional validation of allele-specific LMNB1 dosage correction in patient-derived human astrocytes and offer key support for LMNB1-lowering strategies in disease-relevant human glial cells.

neuroscience↗
bioRxiv2026

Perceptual integration of multisensory haptic, visual, and auditory feedback for roughness discrimination in augmented reality

Understanding how our different senses interact to shape our perception is essential to design realistic and immersive virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) experiences. The present study investigated how roughness perception can be modulated through haptic, visual, and auditory cues in AR using a vibrotactile wristband. Participants compared virtual textures varying in vibration frequency/amplitude, visual grain size, and friction sound. Results revealed strong linear relationships between stimulus parameters and perceived roughness, with haptic frequency and visual cues driving the highest discrimination performance. Adding non-informative sensory feedback reduced perceptual sensitivity, acting as noise. Individual differences emerged: participants who rated haptic as the easiest modality showed greater sensitivity to haptic variations, while visual-reliant participants performed better with visual cues. We conclude that roughness in AR can be systematically manipulated, but is vulnerable to perceptual interference from irrelevant inputs, where our work provides actionable insights for implementing optimized and adaptive AR/VR interfaces.

neuroscience↗
bioRxiv2026

Structural and functional MRI signatures of Gambling Disorder: a case-control study

Gambling disorder (GD) is a behavioural addiction that may help identify addiction-related neural features without the direct neurobiological effects of a primary substance of dependence. We examined regional grey matter volume (GMV) and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in the same well-characterised sample. Eighteen men with GD and 21 matched healthy controls underwent high-resolution structural and resting-state functional MRI. GMV was quantified across 214 cortical and subcortical regions, and seed-based rsFC analyses focused on striatal subdivisions and mesocorticolimbic regions. Group differences were evaluated using permutation testing and cluster-corrected mixed-effects modelling. GD was associated with lower GMV in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal regions and other cortical and subcortical areas, alongside higher GMV in a subset of limbic and default-mode regions. Participants with GD also showed lower connectivity between the limbic striatum and the hippocampus, thalamus and putamen. In exploratory analyses, somatomotor connectivity was positively associated with gambling severity (Problem Gambling Severity Index: Spearman's rho = 0.71, p = 0.003, false-discovery-rate-adjusted q = 0.016). Structural and functional findings overlapped spatially in regions associated with valuation, memory, reward and habit formation, but regional GMV did not mediate group differences in rsFC. These findings are broadly consistent with corticostriatal models of GD and identify candidate circuit-level differences for independent replication. Larger, more diverse and longitudinal samples are required to establish their reproducibility, temporal direction and clinical relevance.

neuroscience↗