# Molecular and anatomical atlases from progenitors to adult neurons in the mouse spinal cord > **NIH NIH R01** · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · $1,303,492 ## Abstract The developing spinal cord has long been a classic model for understanding neurodevelopmental mechanisms yet linking developmental cell types to their adult counterparts has proved elusive. Developmental transcription factors are required for the differentiation and specification of cell types during embryogenesis and are expressed in discrete domains in the developing spinal cord. Yet in the adult, expression of these developmental transcription factors is lost making it difficult to connect embryonic progenitor domains to their adult cell types and function. We will address this gap in knowledge by tracking developmental lineages over time using genetic lineage tracing of molecularly-defined progenitor domains and assaying the changes in transcription, epigenome, and anatomical distribution. Comprehensive understanding of the developmental lineages will reveal true structural and functional complexity of spinal cord circuits that are not reflected in single- cell transcriptomics of adult tissue. We will focus on the developing dorsal progenitor domains that give rise to adult cell types of the dorsal to intermediate spinal cord. The dorsal spinal cord is the primary area for integration of somatosensory stimuli from the periphery and consists of the senses of nociception (pain), thermosensation (temperature), mechanosensation (touch), pruriception (itch), and proprioception (limb and body position). The goal of this proposal is to generate three types of mouse atlases. In Aim 1, we will generate a molecular signature developmental atlas that catalogs the transcriptional and epigenomic changes of dorsal progenitor domain lineages using the 10x Genomics Multiome platform. We have identified five CRE-recombinase mouse lines that together will isolate progenitor domains of the developing spinal cord. We will use these lines to assay the molecular signatures of these lineages at three major time points across the lifetime of the animal and along the rostral-caudal axis. In Aim 2, we will generate an anatomical phenotype developmental atlas to understand the distribution of the molecular signatures using standard histological techniques and a multiplexed spatial transcriptomics platform, MERSCOPE. In Aim 3, we will create a molecular lineage 3-dimensional atlas of all five CRE-lineages at adult stages using the TissueCyte platform. Altogether, these three atlases will provide an invaluable resource for the spinal cord and somatosensory neuroscience community. Comprehensive cell profiling of the dorsal spinal cord will catalog spinal cell types in native states that can be compared to injured or diseased states. It will also serve as a reference for the cell type profiling of the spinal cord in other species. Furthermore, by adding on a layer of developmental lineage, we will answer long standing questions about the development of the spinal cord. Understanding this developmental relationship will provide insight into whether a particular adult cell... ## Key facts - **NIH application ID:** 10772808 - **Project number:** 1R01MH134799-01 - **Recipient organization:** UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER - **Principal Investigator:** Helen Lai - **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.) - **Funding institute:** NIH - **Fiscal year:** 2024 - **Award amount:** $1,303,492 - **Award type:** 1 - **Project period:** 2024-03-01 → 2026-11-30 ## Primary source NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10772808 ## Citation > US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10772808, Molecular and anatomical atlases from progenitors to adult neurons in the mouse spinal cord (1R01MH134799-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10772808. Licensed CC0. --- *[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*