Cerebellum

Summary

The developmental origin of the cerebellum is the hindbrain, together with the brainstem (midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata). The cerebellum is attached to the pons and all communication in and out of the cerebellum goes through pons. The cerebellum is located underneath the cerebrum in the back of the head (see Figure 1). It is involved in movements and coordination.

The transcriptome analysis shows that 81% (n=16305) of all human protein-coding genes (n=20162) are expressed in the human cerebellum. Human one-to-one orthologues were investigated in pig and mouse brain, suggesting that 12054 of all mouse one-to-one orthologues (n=16679) are expressed in the mouse cerebellum and that 13564 of all pig orthologues (n=16614) are expressed in the pig cerebellum.

Gene classification based on regional RNA expression in human, pig and mouse cerebellum defines 196 genes as cerebellum enriched in either of the three species, and 59 out of those genes show highest expression levels in cerebellum in all three species.

Figure 1. Schematic drawing of the human brain, indicating the location of cerebellum from a sagittal view.

Anatomical divisions

The cerebellum has, similar to cerebrum, two hemispheres and a folded cortical surface, which in cerebellum has parallel groves. The brain section contains cerebellar cortex, Vermis and Flocculonodular lobe characterized by their distinct cellular organization in three layers; the molecular layer, Purkinje layer and granular layer. All three layers include a large number of specialized neurons, making the cerebellum the most neuronal dense region of the human brain. It is estimated to include 80% of all the neurons in the brain, but it only represents 10% of the brain volume. The cerebellar nucleus is located deep in the white matter and has a different cellular organization compared to the regions of the cerebellar cortex.

The Purkinje cells are one of the largest neurons in the human body, the cell body of Purkinje cells are located in the Purkinje layer while the dendritic tree of the Purkinje cells stretches out in the molecular layer and the axon of Purkinje cells projects through the granular layer and further to deep cerebellar nuclei. Two examples of proteins specifically located to the Purkinje cells are MYH10, labeling the cell body and the stem of the dendritic tree, and HOMER3 which shows the extensive dendritic tree as well as the axonal projection. The Purkinje cell receives input from both the parallel fibers from the granular cell, projecting into the molecular layer, as well as stellate and basket cells located in the molecular layer. The synaptic inter-connections between basket cells and the initial segment of the Purkinje cell axon are clearly visualized by the protein detection of KIT.


MYH10

HOMER3

KIT

An example of a protein specifically located to the cells of the molecular layer is BHLHE22. Granular cells are highly abundant neurons in the cerebellum with round nucleus tightly packed, and with synaptic glomeruli formed by granular cells, golgi cells and mossy fibers (one of the major inputs to cerebellum from cerebral cortex and other regions). GABRB2 show synaptic positivity, including the synaptic glomeruli in granular layer. Bergmann glia are radial astrocytes specific for cerebellum located in the Purkinje layer with processes through the molecular layer all the way to the pial surface of the cerebellar cortex. An example of protein specifically detected in Bergman glia is QKI.


BHLHE22

GABRB2

QKI

Above examples show the human cerebellum, and similar cell types and proteins can also be detected in the mouse cerebellum. For example, QKI show selective positivity in Bergmann glia, KCNIP4 show staining of the synaptic glomeruli in the granular layer and MX1 is located in the dendritic processes of Purkinje cells.


QKI

KCNIP4

MX1

Regionally elevated protein expression in human

Figure 2. Schematic drawing of the human brain, indicating the location of cerebellum from a coronal perspective.

The transcriptome analysis shows that 81% (n=16305) of all human proteins (n=20162) are expressed in the cerebellum, 14715 of all genes detected in the brain are also detected in cerebellum.

  • 64 regionally enriched genes
  • 162 regionally elevated genes in total
  • Shares the most group enriched genes with Pons & medulla
  • 85 of the cerebellum elevated genes are elevated in other tissues than the brain.
  • 77 of the cerebellum elevated genes are elevated in the brain.

Table 1: Number of genes within the different categories of regionally elevated expression, in human cerebellum

Specificity Number of Human elevated genes
Region enriched 64
Group enriched 33
Region enhanced 65
Elevated 162

Elevated expression in cerebellum compared to other brain regions is divided into three different categories; regionally enriched (at least four-fold higher mRNA levels in cerebellum compared to all other regions), group enriched (at least four-fold higher mRNA levels in a group of 2-5 regions) and regionally enhanced (at least four-fold higher mRNA levels in cerebellum compared to the average of all regions). The number of genes in the individual category is shown in Table 1. In Table 2, the 12 genes with the highest level of regional specificity among the 64 enriched genes are listed.

Table 2. The 12 genes with the highest level of enriched expression in human cerebellum. "Predicted localization" shows the classification of each gene into three main classes: Secreted, Membrane, and Intracellular, where the latter consists of genes without any predicted membrane and secreted features. RS-score (Regional Specificity score) corresponds to the score calculated as the fold change to the second highest region.

Gene Description Predicted location RS-score
PRR35 Proline rich 35 Intracellular 21
ZP2 Zona pellucida glycoprotein 2 Secreted, Membrane 16
RHBG Rh family B glycoprotein Membrane 15
CDH15 Cadherin 15 Membrane 14
EOMES Eomesodermin Intracellular 14
GABRA6 Gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptor subunit alpha6 Membrane, Intracellular 14
BARHL2 BarH like homeobox 2 Intracellular 13
PMIS2 PMIS2 transmembrane protein Membrane 13
CBLN3 Cerebellin 3 precursor Secreted, Intracellular 12
NRK Nik related kinase Membrane, Intracellular 11
EFCAB9 EF-hand calcium binding domain 9 Intracellular 10
KASH5 KASH domain containing 5 Membrane, Intracellular 10

Spatial resolved protein expression in the main layers and cell types of the human cerebellum

The cerebellum is segmented into the molecular layer (ml) containing interneurons and dendrites of Purkinje cells, the Purkinje layer (pl) with the soma of Purkinje cells and Bergmann glia, the granular layer (gl) mainly containing granule cells and white matter (WM) containing oligodendrocytes and whitematter astrocytes. The cell-type masks for each cell types is color coded. The zoomable images below provide an overview of the cell type mask in 3 human cerebellum crops. The tables on the right provide an overview of genes enriched in the neurons (all neuron types), Purkinje cells, astrocytes, microglia, oligodendroctyes and cells associated with brain vasculature. Details on the the method and calculations can be found in the spatial transcriptomics resource. A major advantage of spatial transcriptomics is the ability to link protein coding genes to cell types even if the protein distribution does not reveal a cell morphology when using immunohistochemstry (IHC). To illustrate this several IHC examples are shown below the tables.

Top 12 cerebellum neuron elevated genes This set of protein coding genes is dominated by proteins expressed by different neuron types in the cerebellum including granule cells, interneurons and Purkinje cells.

Gene Description Abundance
VSNL1 visinin like 1 1055
GNG3 G protein subunit gamma 3 739
PLCXD1 phosphatidylinositol specific phospholipase C X domain containing 1 115
RECQL5 RecQ like helicase 5 102
THAP2 THAP domain containing 2 100
SCN3A sodium voltage-gated channel alpha subunit 3 96
C20orf204 chromosome 20 open reading frame 204 90
CDCA8 cell division cycle associated 8 87
CXXC1 CXXC finger protein 1 75
LRRTM2 leucine rich repeat transmembrane neuronal 2 72
TLX3 T cell leukemia homeobox 3 60
GUCA1B guanylate cyclase activator 1B 58

Top 12 Purkinje elevated This set of proteing coding genes are elevated in Purkinje cells and code for protiens located in the soma FGL2 , dendritesGNG13 or axons (mossy fibers) PANX2 or a combination.

Gene Description Abundance
HOMER3 homer scaffold protein 3 9787
GNG13 G protein subunit gamma 13 1445
PANX2 pannexin 2 1247
PPFIA1 PTPRF interacting protein alpha 1 1029
FGL2 fibrinogen like 2 997
THRA thyroid hormone receptor alpha 917
GFM2 GTP dependent ribosome recycling factor mitochondrial 2 832
EGFLAM EGF like, fibronectin type III and laminin G domains 767
MEAF6 MYST/Esa1 associated factor 6 755
IRF6 interferon regulatory factor 6 737
CHRNA5 cholinergic receptor nicotinic alpha 5 subunit 691
ANO1 anoctamin 1 679


FGL2

GNG13

PANX2

Top 12 cerebellum astrocyte elevated genes This set contains protein coding genes expressed by Bergmann glia like AQP4 and SLC1A2.

Gene Description Abundance
AQP4 aquaporin 4 2760
ANKS3 ankyrin repeat and sterile alpha motif domain containing 3 2320
GAS7 growth arrest specific 7 1978
IQCK IQ motif containing K 1895
NRXN1 neurexin 1 1502
SLC1A2 solute carrier family 1 member 2 1370
PHKB phosphorylase kinase regulatory subunit beta 1267
LAMA1 laminin subunit alpha 1 1122
FCHSD2 FCH and double SH3 domains 2 1113
CAPZA2 capping actin protein of muscle Z-line subunit alpha 2 992
LUZP2 leucine zipper protein 2 991
TRPM3 transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M member 3 951

Top 12 cerebellum microglia mask enriched genes These contain many general marker genes for microglia cells and other immune cells that can be found throught the brain.

Gene Description Abundance
HSPE1 heat shock protein family E (Hsp10) member 1 3897
CD74 CD74 molecule 3655
C3 complement C3 2474
C1QB complement C1q B chain 2318
HLA-DRA major histocompatibility complex, class II, DR alpha 1635
DPP9 dipeptidyl peptidase 9 1532
HS3ST4 heparan sulfate-glucosamine 3-sulfotransferase 4 1073
PLXDC2 plexin domain containing 2 995
CACNB4 calcium voltage-gated channel auxiliary subunit beta 4 980
HAMP hepcidin antimicrobial peptide 926
MACROD2 mono-ADP ribosylhydrolase 2 898
MCCC1 methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase subunit 1 888

Top 12 cerebullum vasculature elevated Thes include protein coding genes expressed by endothelia cells like SLC2A1 and CLDN5, but also transcripts found in blood cells like HBB.

Gene Description Abundance
HBB hemoglobin subunit beta 8506
CLDN5 claudin 5 2064
TMSB10 thymosin beta 10 1586
EIF3I eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 subunit I 1196
IFI27 interferon alpha inducible protein 27 1033
SLC2A1 solute carrier family 2 member 1 1021
KRT18 keratin 18 985
DUSP23 dual specificity phosphatase 23 977
IGFBP7 insulin like growth factor binding protein 7 795
MT1G metallothionein 1G 763
MON1B MON1 homolog B, secretory trafficking associated 680
ADIRF adipogenesis regulatory factor 614

Regionally elevated protein expression in mouse

The mouse cerebellum is anatomically similar to the human cerebellum, with folded cortex and the three distinct layers of cells; granular layer, Purkinje layer and molecular layer, all containing different neuronal cell types. The transcriptome analysis shows that 60% (n=12054) of all mouse genes with one-to-one human orthologue (n=16679) are expressed in the cerebellum. 182 genes show an elevated expression in cerebellum compared to other regions of the brain.

Table 3: Number of genes within the different categories of regionally elevated expression, in mouse cerebellum

Specificity Number of Mouse elevated genes
Region enriched 94
Group enriched 39
Region enhanced 49
Elevated 182


Figure 3.Schematic drawing of the mouse brain, indicating the location of cerebellum from a sagittal view.

Elevated expression in cerebellum compared to other brain regions is divided into three different categories; regionally enriched (at least four-fold higher mRNA levels in cerebellum compared to all other regions), group enriched (at least four-fold higher mRNA levels in a group of 2-5 regions) and regionally enhanced (at least four-fold higher mRNA levels in cerebellum compared to the average of all regions). The number of genes in the individual category is shown in Table 3. In Table 4, the 12 genes with the highest level of regional specificity among the 94 enriched genes are listed.

Table 4: The 12 genes with the highest level of enriched expression in mouse cerebellum. "Predicted localization" shows the classification of each gene into three main classes: Secreted, Membrane, and Intracellular, where the latter consists of genes without any predicted membrane and secreted features. RS-score (Regional Specificity score) corresponds to the score calculated as the fold change to the second highest region.

Gene Description Predicted location RS-score
SYCP1 Synaptonemal complex protein 1 Intracellular 51
CRTAM Cytotoxic and regulatory T cell molecule Membrane 44
PCP2 Purkinje cell protein 2 Intracellular 44
GABRA6 Gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptor subunit alpha6 Membrane, Intracellular 40
CA8 Carbonic anhydrase 8 Intracellular 38
PKP3 Plakophilin 3 Intracellular 37
CPSF4L Cleavage and polyadenylation specific factor 4 like Intracellular 36
MYBPC3 Myosin binding protein C3 Intracellular 33
ARHGEF33 Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor 33 Intracellular 32
BCL2L15 BCL2 like 15 Intracellular 32
PPP1R17 Protein phosphatase 1 regulatory subunit 17 Intracellular 32
EMILIN3 Elastin microfibril interfacer 3 Secreted 30

One example of protein specifically localized to cerebellum is CBLN3 with a synaptic location most abundant in the molecular layer.


CBLN3

Regionally elevated protein expression in pig

The pig cerebellum is anatomically similar to the human cerebellum, with folded cortex and the three distinct layers of cells; granular layer, Purkinje layer and molecular layer, all containing different neuronal cell types. The transcriptome analysis shows that 67% (n=13564) of all pig genes (n=16614) are expressed in the cerebellum. 165 genes show an elevated expression in cerebellum compared to other regions of the brain.

Table 5: Number of genes within the different categories of regionally elevated expression, in pig cerebellum

Specificity Number of Pig elevated genes
Region enriched 79
Group enriched 25
Region enhanced 61
Elevated 165

Figure 4. Schematic drawing of the pig brain, indicating the location of cerebellum from a sagittal view.

Elevated expression in cerebellum compared to other brain regions is divided into three different categories; regionally enriched (at least four-fold higher mRNA levels in cerebellum compared to all other regions), group enriched (at least four-fold higher mRNA levels in a group of 2-5 regions) and regionally enhanced (at least four-fold higher mRNA levels in cerebellum compared to the average of all regions). The number of genes in the individual category is shown in Table 5. In Table 6, the 12 genes with the highest level of regional specificity among the 79 enriched genes are listed.

Table 6: The 12 genes with the highest level of enriched expression in pig cerebellum. "Predicted localization" shows the classification of each gene into three main classes: Secreted, Membrane, and Intracellular, where the latter consists of genes without any predicted membrane and secreted features. RS-score (Regional Specificity score) corresponds to the score calculated as the fold change to the second highest region.

Gene Description Predicted location RS-score
FAT2 FAT atypical cadherin 2 Membrane 58
CBLN3 Cerebellin 3 precursor Secreted, Intracellular 43
GABRA6 Gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptor subunit alpha6 Membrane, Intracellular 39
AVPR2 Arginine vasopressin receptor 2 Membrane 29
PCP2 Purkinje cell protein 2 Intracellular 25
BARHL2 BarH like homeobox 2 Intracellular 20
COL27A1 Collagen type XXVII alpha 1 chain Secreted, Intracellular 20
NEUROD1 Neuronal differentiation 1 Intracellular 20
TGM6 Transglutaminase 6 Intracellular 20
YIPF7 Yip1 domain family member 7 Membrane, Intracellular 20
CDH15 Cadherin 15 Membrane 19
HENMT1 HEN methyltransferase 1 Intracellular 16

Extended information

Proteins specifically localized in human cerebellum

Proteins with elevated expression in cerebellum compared to the other brain regions were detected in the different cell types and layers of cerebellum. Protein specifically detected in cell of molecular layer (SCGN), the granular cells (PAX6) and the synaptic glomeruli of the granular layer (TMEM266) were all identified among the cerebellum elevated genes.


SCGN

PAX6

TMEM266

Several genes with cerebellum elevated expression were localized to Purkinje cells, for example ARHGEF33 and PPP1R17. Proteins detected in Bergmann glia were also found among the cerebellum elevated genes, for example DAO.


ARHGEF33

PPP1R17

DAO

Detailed annotation of the human cerebellum

A refined characterization of the protein location in the cerebellum of 900 genes was performed by taking 19 different cellular compartments into consideration in the annotation, unlike the standard annotation which includes cells of the three different layers (molecular, Purkinje and granular).

Large sections of human cerebellum

The standard setup in the Tissue Atlas, that profiles human tissues, is based on Tissue Micro array technique, saving valuable tissue material as well as reagents and still providing a good tissue representation for protein profiling. However, due to the complex nature of the brain, with different cell types and subfields, we occasionally include a larger tissue sample to better understand the protein location. In table 7, the selected targets used for profiling on extended tissue material is listed.

Table 7. The following 9 genes have been analyzed using extended cerebellum samples.

Gene Gene description Staining pattern
CAMKK2 Calcium/calmodulin dependent protein kinase kinase 2 Moderate cytoplasmic positivity in cells in dentate nucleus.
CPLX4 Complexin 4 Synaptic positivity in granular layer.
REEP2 Receptor accessory protein 2 Staining in Purkinje cells and neuronal projections as well as subsets of cells in dentate nucleus, granular layer and molecular layer.
SMIM18 Small integral membrane protein 18 Mainly strong staining in a set of neurons and projections in cerebellum molecular layer.
SPTBN4 Spectrin beta, non-erythrocytic 4 Strong neuronal projection positivity close to Purkinje cell bodies. Neurites in molecular layer.
TRIM46 Tripartite motif containing 46 Strong cytoplasmic positivity in neuronal projections.
TTC21B Tetratricopeptide repeat domain 21B Stains neurons and synapses in Dentate nucleus.
VCAN Versican Strong membranous and cytoplasmic positivity in cells in dentate nucleus.
ZP2 Zona pellucida glycoprotein 2 Moderate cytoplasmic positivity in synapses.