| Summary | The human neocortex is created from diverse progenitors that are intermixed with multiple cell types in the prenatal germinal zones. These progenitors have been difficult to profile with unbiased transcriptomics since progenitors-particularly radial glia (RG)-are rare cell types, defined by a combination of intracellular markers, position and morphology. To circumvent these problems, we developed a method called FRSCR for transcriptome profiling of individual fixed, stained, and sorted cells. After validation of FRSCR with human embryonic stem cells, we profiled primary human RG that constitute only 1% of the mid-gestation cortex. These data showed that RG could be classified into ventricle zone-enriched RG (vRG) that expressed ANXA1 and CRYAB, and outer subventricular zone-localized RG (oRG) that expressed HOPX. Our study identified the first markers and molecular profiles of vRG and oRG cells, and provides an essential step for understanding molecular networks that control the development and lineage of human neocortical progenitors. Furthermore, FRSCR allows targeted single-cell transcriptomic profiling of many tissues that currently lack live-cell markers. |
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