MECP2 Mutations Rewire Human ESC Fate and Bias Cortical Lineage Commitment

Abstract

Rett syndrome arises from loss-of-function mutations in the X-linked chromatin regulator MECP2, yet the earliest molecular derailments in human development remain poorly defined. Using isogenic hESC models carrying three patient-derived MECP2 mutations, we followed the transcriptome from pluripotency through neuro-ectoderm, neural stem, and neural progenitor stages and into three-month cerebral organoids. Stage dominated transcriptional variance, but mutants shared a secondary program enriched for synaptic-membrane and extracellular-matrix genes. Single-cell profiling revealed a naive-like, hyper-proliferative state marked by up-regulation of ZFP42 at ESC stage. Strikingly, EMX1, a cortical radial-glia determinant, was consistently suppressed from the earliest stage onward, and cerebral organoids subsequently generated fewer excitatory neurons in favour of inhibitory and glial lineages. These data chart a continuous developmental trajectory for MECP2-mutant human cells and nominate ZFP42 and EMX1 dysregulation as tractable entry points for dissecting Rett pathogenesis.