Somatic mutation in single human neurons tracks developmental and transcriptional history

Individualized neuronal mutations in the human brain The neurons of the human brain can last for decades, carrying out computational and signaling functions. Lodato et al. analyzed the DNA of individual neurons sampled from postmortem human brains and found that individual neurons acquired somatic mutations (see the Perspective by Linnarsson). The mechanism of mutation involved gene transcription rather than DNA replication. Thus, postmitotic neurons would seem to be their own worst enemy: Genes used for neuronal function are the very genes put most at risk of somatic mutation. Science, this issue p. 94; see also p. 37 Human brains are built from intermingled clones of cells that carry mutations linked to their use of particular neuronal genes. [Also see Perspective by Linnarsson] Neurons live for decades in a postmitotic state, their genomes susceptible to DNA damage. Here we survey the landscape of somatic single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) in the human brain. We identified thousands of somatic SNVs by single-cell sequencing of 36 neurons from the cerebral cortex of three normal individuals. Unlike germline and cancer SNVs, which are often caused by errors in DNA replication, neuronal mutations appear to reflect damage during active transcription. Somatic mutations create nested lineage trees, allowing them to be dated relative to developmental landmarks and revealing a polyclonal architecture of the human cerebral cortex. Thus, somatic mutations in the brain represent a durable and ongoing record of neuronal life history, from development through postmitotic function.