Spatiotemporal proteomic atlas of multiple brain regions across early fetal to neonatal stages in cynomolgus monkey

Abstract

Fetal stages are critical periods for brain development. However, the protein molecular signature and dynamics of the human brain remain unclear due to sampling difficulty and ethical limitations. Non-human primates present similar developmental and neuropathological features to humans. This study constructed a spatiotemporal proteomic atlas of cynomolgus macaque brain development from early fetal to neonatal stages. Here we showed that (1) the variability across stages was greater than that among brain regions, and comparisons of cerebellum vs. cerebrum and cortical vs. subcortical regions revealed region-specific dynamics across early fetal to neonatal stages; (2) fluctuations in abundance of proteins associated with neural disease suggest the risk of nervous disorder at early fetal stages; (3) cross-species analysis (human, monkey, and mouse) and comparison between proteomic and transcriptomic data reveal the proteomic specificity and genes with mRNA/protein discrepancy. This study provides insight into fetal brain development in primates.