Molecular organization of autonomic, respiratory, and spinally-projecting neurons in the mouse ventrolateral medulla

The ventrolateral medulla (VLM) is a crucial region in the brain for visceral and somatic control. It also serves as a significant source of synaptic input to the spinal cord. Experimental studies have shown that gene expression in individual VLM neurons is predictive of their function. However, the organizing principles of the VLM have remained uncertain. This study aimed to create a comprehensive dataset of VLM cells using single-cell RNA sequencing. The dataset was enriched with targeted sequencing of spinally-projecting and adrenergic/noradrenergic VLM neurons. Based on differentially expressed genes, the resulting dataset of 114,805 VLM cells identifies 23 subtypes of neurons, excluding those in the inferior olive, and 5 subtypes of astrocytes. Spinally-projecting neurons were found to be abundant in 7 subtypes of neurons, which were validated through in-situ hybridization. These subtypes included adrenergic/noradrenergic neurons, serotonergic neurons, and neurons expressing gene markers associated with pre-motor neurons in the ventromedial medulla. Further analysis of adrenergic/noradrenergic neurons and serotonergic neurons identified 9 and 6 subtypes, respectively, within each class of monoaminergic neurons. Marker genes that identify the neural network responsible for breathing were concentrated in 2 subtypes of neurons, delineated from each other by markers for excitatory and inhibitory neurons. These datasets are available for public download and for analysis with a user-friendly interface. Collectively, this study provides a fine-scale molecular identification of cells in the VLM, forming the foundation for a better understanding of the VLMs role in vital functions and motor control.