Overview
- Published in Science Advances, the study profiles nearly 680,000 fetal brain cells with a two-step BrainSTEM mapping framework.
- A higher-resolution midbrain projection pinpoints dopaminergic neurons and sets a standard to gauge the fidelity of in vitro models.
- Comparisons reveal that several differentiation protocols produce off-target cell types from other brain regions, highlighting a need to refine methods and analyses.
- The team will release the atlases and the BrainSTEM mapping package as open-source tools for global use.
- Researchers say the resource could enhance production and evaluation of cells for Parkinson’s therapies, with clinical impact remaining to be validated.