In this 60-minute video, Wenqin Luo, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses high-depth single soma RNA of human dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons. Primary somatosensory neurons in the DRG play critical roles in sensing external and internal stimuli and generate sensations like pain, itch, warm, cold and touch. Most knowledge regarding DRG neurons comes from model organisms, which may have significant species differences from humans. Here, Dr. Luo’s research team developed a new approach by isolating individual somas of human DRG neurons using laser capture microdissection and performing high-depth Smart-seq2 RNAseq. More than 9,000 unique genes on average per neuronal soma were detected, and 16 functional groups were identified. Her team has established a novel method that enabled high-depth single soma RNAseq of human neurons. Their results not only provide novel molecular and cellular mechanisms for understanding human somatosensation but serve as an important reference when translating animal studies into human treatments. Click here to view the preprint of Dr. Luo’s research.