Transcriptomics and "immune Alterations" in neuro-developmental & Psychiatric Disorders

Garvan Institute of Medical Research
What is cellular transcriptomics?

Technologies used for​transcriptomics and 
their development

Transcriptomics technologies have 
volved significantly since their inception
in the early 1990s. Here are some key
technologies and their development
timelines:

• Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) 
• Sequencing: 
• ​Developed in the 1990s, this method used 
• Sanger sequencing to study individual
• RNA transcripts. 
  
  
• Serial Analysis of
  
• Gene Expression (SAGE): 
• Introduced in the mid-1990s, 
• SAGE allowed the simultaneous analysis
•  of thousands of transcripts. 
  
  
• Microarrays: 
• Developed in the late 1990s, ​​microarrays enabled the 
• ​quantification of a set of 
• predetermined sequences through 
  
• probe hybridization. 
  
  
• RNA-Seq: 
• Launched in the mid-2000s, 
• RNA-Seq revolutionized transcriptomics by
• allowing  high-throughput sequencing
•  of entire transcripts. 
  
  
• Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS): Platforms like Illumina transformed the
• field, enabling comprehensive and quick
• sequencing of transcript abundance and 
• expression levels. 
  
  
• Single-Cell RNA-Seq (scRNA-Seq): 
• Introduced around 2017, 
• scRNA-Seq profiles single cells to uncover
•  cellular heterogeneity. 
  
  
• Long-Read Sequencing 
• Technologies: 
• Platforms like Oxford Nanopore and 
• PacBio have advanced the field by 
• enabling full-length transcript 
• assembly with error rates below 0.02%. 
  
  
• Spatial Transcriptomics: 
• Emerging around 2020, spatial 
• transcriptomics integrates sequencing or
• imaging with positional barcoding 
• ​to map transcripts in their native tissue 
• context. 
  
  
  These technologies have revolutionized 
• the study of RNA and have been 
• instrumental in advancing our 
• understanding of gene expression,
• disease mechanisms, and cellular 
• processes. 
  
  
• 6 Sources

Immune involvement in 
​neuropsychiatric disorders:

Insights from single-cell
transcriptomic studies (2026)
​
*Japan

[S}ingle-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) have emerged as transformative technologies, enabling transcriptomic profiling at single-cell resolution.

These approaches have revealed
immunological alterations across a wide range of disorders.

This review introduces recent findings from sc/snRNA-seq studies of immune-related mechanisms in psychiatric disorders-including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder-as well as in neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, multiple sclerosis, and anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis

​Brain-immune interactions in neuropsychiatric disorders:

Lessons from transcriptome studies for molecular targeting  (2021)

*South Korea​

Herein, the key transcriptomic techniques applied in investigating differentially expressed genes and pathways responsible for altered brain-immune interactions in neuropsychiatric disorders are discussed.

The application of transcriptomics that can aid in identifying molecular targets in various neuropsychiatric disorders is highlighted.