Imaging · study · 2026
Single-cell multi-omic and spatial landscape of primate pineal gland reveals circadian and melatonin regulatory architecture
Listed in NCBI GEO
The mammalian pineal gland maintains circadian rhythms and homeostasis by secreting melatonin.
Description
However, the lack of a cell-resolved regulatory map limits our understanding of how these neuroendocrine functions are orchestrated in primates. Here, we constructed a multi-omics atlas of the Macaca fascicularis pineal gland by integrating snRNA-seq, snATAC-seq, and spatial transcriptomics.
We identified pinealocytes as the predominant cell type, alongside six glial and vascular lineages. Chromatin accessibility analysis delineated cell-type-specific regions enriched for melatonin synthesis and phototransduction genes. Notably, we resolved a dual-layer regulatory architecture: while melatonin synthesis programs are robustly organized, circadian clock regulators exhibit a distinct, sparse spatial pattern.
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Co-expression networks further identified core modules and regulatory hubs—including CRX/OTX2, LHX4, and RORA—that integrate these circadian and light-responsive signals. Cell-cell communication analysis identified signaling axes, such as PTN-ALK/SDC2, RA-RORB, and NRG1-ERBB4, that potentially coordinate this spatial functional organization. Integrating genetic traits showed that sleep and neuropsychiatric risk variants preferentially map to these pineal regulatory modules.
Specifically, sleep-associated loci converged on MEIS1-linked elements, while bipolar disorder-associated loci highlighted candidate genes RDH12 and SDK2. Overall, this study reveals the cellular diversity and spatial regulatory logic of the primate pineal gland, providing a foundation for investigating circadian and neuroendocrine regulation in health and disease.
Links
Get the data
- GEO FTP directory ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/series/GSE324nnn/GSE324158 ↗
download · from NCBI GEO
Where it is published
- GEO accession page ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE324158 ↗
landing page · from NCBI GEO
Documentation and papers
- PRJNA1433545 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA1433545 ↗
project · from NCBI GEO
Topics
- Stated by source
- Expression profiling by high throughput sequencing · Genome binding/occupancy profiling by high throughput sequencing · Other
- From keywords
- Life Sciences
- Inferred from text
- Disease 75% · Single-cell RNA sequencing 65%
Provenance · 1 source records, 10 field assertions
| Source | Key | Last seen | Raw |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCBI GEO | GSE324158 | 13 d ago | JSON v1 |
| Field | Assertion | Extractor | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| access_level | source · NCBI GEO | connector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[disease].local:disease:disease | enrichment · NCBI GEO | keyword-concept-rules@1.0.0 | title+description (75%) |
| concepts[field].local:field:life-sciences | mapping · NCBI GEO | connector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[method].geo_series_type:expression-profiling-by-high-throughput-sequencing | source · NCBI GEO | connector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0 | /gdstype |
| concepts[method].geo_series_type:genome-binding-occupancy-profiling-by-high-throughput-sequencing | source · NCBI GEO | connector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0 | /gdstype |
| concepts[method].geo_series_type:other | source · NCBI GEO | connector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0 | /gdstype |
| concepts[modality].local:modality:single-cell-rna-seq | enrichment · NCBI GEO | keyword-concept-rules@1.0.0 | title+description (65%) |
| description | source · NCBI GEO | connector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0 | /summary |
| publication_date | source · NCBI GEO | connector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0 | |
| title | source · NCBI GEO | connector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0 | /title |