Characterising processing conditions that artifactually bias human brain tissue transcriptomes

Abstract

Autopsy-derived brain tissue analysis is crucial for understanding neurobiology, but post-mortem handling can introduce artifacts. We studied adult human brain transcriptomic signatures from tissue immediately extracted from brains (< 0 hours) and compared to autopsy brain tissue with short (~6 hours) and long (~36 hours) post-mortem intervals (PMIs). Significant deviations in gene signatures were observed in both short and long PMIs compared to immediately extracted tissue, which we defined as Brain Artifact Genes (BAGs). By subjecting brain samples to processing variables that are unavoidable in autopsy programs (post-mortem time and temperature), we characterized a set of artifact-responsive genes and mapped this signature onto matched single-nucleus RNA-seq data, revealing that it was predominantly glutamatergic neurons that exhibited the earliest induction of artifact genes followed by oligodendrocytes later. Using deep learning, we distilled this broader processing-response program into a predictive signature, called Time and Temperature Response genes Underlying Transcriptional Heterogeneity (TTRUTH) and provide an Open Science tool for assigning TTRUTH scores to brain RNA-seq data. Together, this work will help better standardize datasets, enable additional sample stratification, and enhance data interpretation.