Discovering Haematoma-Stimulated Circuits for Secondary Brain Injury after Intraventricular Haemorrhage by Spatial Transcriptome Analysis

Central nervous system (CNS) diseases, such as neurodegenerative disorders and brain diseases caused by acute injuries, are important yet challenging to study due to disease leisions’ locations and other complexities. Utilizing the powerful spatial transcriptome analysis together with novel algorithms we developed for the study, we report here for the first time a 3D trajectory map of gene expression changes in the brain following acute neural injury using a mouse model of intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH). IVH is a common and representative complication after various acute brain injuries with severe mortality and mobility implications. Our data identified three main 3D global pseudospace-time trajectory bundles which represent the main neural circuits from the lateral ventricle to the hippocampus and primary cortex induced by experimental intraventricular haematoma stimulation. Further analysis indicated a rapid response in the primary cortex, as well as a direct and integrated effect on the hippocampus after IVH. These results are informative in understanding the pathophysiological changes, including the spatial and temporal patterns of gene expression changes, in IVH patients after acute brain injuries and strategizing more effective clinical management regimens. The bioinformatics strategies will also be useful for the study of other CNS diseases.