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| Name | Class |
|---|---|
| Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University | OTHER |
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This research studies how nerve cells in the human embryonic retina, visual brain regions, and brain areas responsible for higher cognitive functions grow, develop, and form interconnected functional networks.
Eye tissue, visual brain tissue, and other brain tissue linked to advanced cognitive functions will be collected from embryos whose pregnancies were terminated due to medical conditions or illnesses. High-throughput single-cell and single-nucleus sequencing will be utilized to map gene activity patterns and developmental growth pathways of retinal nerve cells.
Multiple testing tools will be combined to analyze these brain and retinal cells: Patch-seq (single-cell patch-clamp sequencing), high-density microelectrode arrays (MEA), and two-photon calcium imaging. With these tools, systematic measurements will be performed on the electrical activity, physical shape, synaptic connection patterns, and signal coding functions of neurons in the retina and visual brain regions. Multi-modal tissue maps and a public database will be constructed to store all collected research data.
Immunofluorescence staining will also be applied to compare structural differences and nerve fiber connections between visual brain regions and higher cognitive brain areas. The regenerative capacity and neuron formation process of embryonic brain stem cells, as well as the migration paths of developing neurons, will be tracked.
Overall, this study aims to fully uncover the neural foundation of visual signal processing, and identify the molecular regulatory networks that control nerve tissue development during the embryonic stage.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abnormal Group | Embryos with confirmed embryonic developmental abnormalities, gestational age 9-40 weeks, from patients receiving clinically indicated termination of pregnancy. Tissue collection and multi-omics sequencing analysis will be performed on ocular and brain tissues. |
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| Normal Group | Embryonic tissues derived from normally developing embryos with gestational age of 9 to 40 weeks, collected from pregnant women who voluntarily received clinically indicated termination of pregnancy. Ocular and brain tissues will be collected and subjected to multi-omics sequencing analysis consistent with the abnormal group. |
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| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tissue collection and multi-omics sequencing analysis | Other | This observational study collects discarded human embryonic ocular and brain tissues from patients undergoing clinically indicated termination of pregnancy, with gestational age ranging from 9 to 40 weeks. We separate retinal, visual cortex and high-order cognitive cortex tissues, then perform single-cell multi-omics sequencing including transcriptome, chromatin accessibility and proteome profiling. The data is used to explore retinal neurogenesis, neuronal developmental trajectories and multi-modal cell atlas of embryonic visual system, without any clinical intervention on participants. |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Single-cell transcriptomic atlas and developmental trajectory of embryonic retinal and visual cortical neurons | Perform single-cell RNA sequencing on human embryonic eye and brain tissues from abnormal developmental group and normal control group. Identify all cell subtypes in retina and visual-associated cognitive cortex, reconstruct continuous developmental trajectory of retinal neurogenesis and visual cortical neurons, and compare neuronal subtype distribution differences between the two groups. | Day 1 of tissue collection |
| Genome-wide chromatin open regions in embryonic visual tissues | Genome-wide chromatin open regions are detected via snATAC-seq on embryonic ocular and brain tissues from case and control groups. | Day 1 of tissue collection |
| Differential chromatin accessibility between normal and malformed embryonic visual tissues | Differential chromatin accessibility signals are identified via integrated analysis of snATAC-seq and scRNA-seq data from embryonic ocular and brain tissues. | Day 1 of tissue collection |
| Candidate pathogenic genes underlying embryonic visual developmental abnormalities | Genes linked to abnormal embryonic visual development are screened based on differential chromatin and transcriptomic profiles. | Day 1 of tissue collection |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Action potential firing patterns of embryonic visual neurons | Action potential firing patterns are recorded via combined Patch-seq and MEA on primary cultured retinal and visual cortical neurons from case and control embryonic tissues. | Day 1 of tissue collection |
| Synchronous electrical activity of embryonic neuronal networks |
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Inclusion Criteria:
Normal group: Embryos confirmed free of any ocular and central nervous developmental defects by prenatal examination and anatomical observation; intact embryonic ocular and brain tissues meeting all experimental detection standards.
All sample donors have signed written informed consent authorizing the use of residual embryonic tissues for scientific research, with no monetary compensation involved.
Exclusion Criteria:
Donors who withdraw or refuse the consent for tissue research use. Samples with irregular collection, transportation or cryopreservation procedures resulting in tissue degradation and failure to meet experimental requirements.
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This study recruits pregnant patients undergoing termination of pregnancy at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, divided into an embryonic developmental abnormality group (Abnormal group) and a normal control group (Normal group), with a planned enrollment of 100 subjects per group. The gestational age of embryos ranges from 9 to 40 weeks. Two types of samples are included: retrospective cryopreserved specimens from the hospital biobank collected between January 2025 and January 2026 (20 cases per group, with donors having signed informed consent for specimen research use); and prospective fresh specimens collected between February 2026 and June 2027 (80 cases per group). All participants sign study-specific written informed consent.
| Name | Role | Phone | Extension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheng Liu, Doctor | Contact | 13622284795 | liush87@mail.sysu.edu.cn | |
| Jing Su | Contact | 15999937669 | sujing@gzzoc.com |
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| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University | Recruiting | Guangzhou | Guangdong | 510060 | China |
| PubMed Identifier | Type | Citation | Retractions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35551574 | Result | Huang W, Xu Q, Liu F, Su J, Xiao D, Tang L, Hao ZZ, Liu R, Xiang K, Bi Y, Miao Z, Liu X, Liu Y, Liu S. Identification of TPBG-Expressing Amacrine Cells in DAT-tdTomato Mouse. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2022 May 2;63(5):13. doi: 10.1167/iovs.63.5.13. | |
| 36103830 | Result | Huang W, Xu Q, Su J, Tang L, Hao ZZ, Xu C, Liu R, Shen Y, Sang X, Xu N, Tie X, Miao Z, Liu X, Xu Y, Liu F, Liu Y, Liu S. Linking transcriptomes with morphological and functional phenotypes in mammalian retinal ganglion cells. Cell Rep. 2022 Sep 13;40(11):111322. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111322. |
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The raw individual-level data contains identifiable embryonic genomic information. To protect participants' privacy and comply with domestic biomedical research ethics and data security laws, we cannot share the original IPD with external researchers. Processed analytical results including cell atlas, differential genes and regulatory networks will be released together with related publications.
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| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D014015 | Tissue Banks |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D018070 | Biological Specimen Banks |
| D006268 | Health Facilities |
| D005159 | Health Care Facilities Workforce and Services |
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Retained biospecimens are human embryonic ocular tissues and brain tissues collected from embryos after medical pregnancy termination with informed consent and ethical approval.
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Neuronal network synchronous electrical activity is recorded via combined Patch-seq and MEA on primary cultured retinal and visual cortical neurons from case and control embryonic tissues. |
| Day 1 of tissue collection |
| Spatial expression localization of key visual development genes detected by RNAscope | RNAscope in situ hybridization is conducted on embryonic retinal and brain tissue slices to visualize the spatial distribution and quantitative expression levels of candidate pathogenic genes screened from multi-omics data. Compare the spatial gene expression differences between normal embryonic visual tissues and tissues with ocular developmental defects. | The day 1 of embryonic tissue collection after clinical termination of pregnancy |
| Differentially expressed proteins identified via global proteome sequencing | Global proteome sequencing is performed on embryonic ocular and brain tissues to generate lists of differentially expressed proteins linked to retinal neurogenesis and visual cortical development. | Day 1 of tissue collection |
| Spatial localization and expression abundance of proteins via immunohistochemistry | Immunohistochemistry staining is applied on embryonic tissue sections to detect spatial localization and expression abundance of core differentially expressed proteins. | Day 1 of tissue collection |
| 39095595 | Result | Chen X, Huang Y, Huang L, Huang Z, Hao ZZ, Xu L, Xu N, Li Z, Mou Y, Ye M, You R, Zhang X, Liu S, Miao Z. A brain cell atlas integrating single-cell transcriptomes across human brain regions. Nat Med. 2024 Sep;30(9):2679-2691. doi: 10.1038/s41591-024-03150-z. Epub 2024 Aug 2. |
| 37045994 | Result | Wei JR, Xiao D, Tang L, Xu N, Liu R, Shen Y, Xu Z, Sang X, Ge J, Xiang M, Liu S. Neural cell isolation from adult macaques for high-throughput analyses and neurosphere cultures. Nat Protoc. 2023 Jun;18(6):1930-1957. doi: 10.1038/s41596-023-00820-z. Epub 2023 Apr 12. |