Somatic mutation in single human neurons tracks developmental and transcriptional history

Individualized neuronal mutations in the human brain The neurons of the human brain can last for decades, carrying out computational and signaling functions. Lodato et al. analyzed the DNA of individual neurons sampled from postmortem human brains and found that individual neurons acquired somatic mutations (see the Perspective by Linnarsson). The mechanism of mutation involved gene transcription rather than DNA replication. Thus, postmitotic neurons would seem to be their own worst enemy: Genes used for neuronal function are the very genes put most at risk of somatic mutation. Science , this issue p. 94 ; see also p. 37