Fig. 3: Transcriptomic characterization of NPC cultures.

a–d Principal component analysis (PCA) plots of all samples based on the 1000 most variant genes. Most variation in gene expression is explained by donor effects. Within each cluster, treatment duration per se, i.e., regardless of the type of treatment, has a big effect on gene expression, underscoring the importance of including separate control samples (DMSO) for both duration categories. e Variance partition plot showing the proportion of gene expression variance attributed to different sources. Residuals constitute additional, unknown sources of variation not accounted for. f Cell type proportions estimated by computational deconvolution. NPCs and fetal replicating neurons were the cell populations with largest fractions, but other cell types are also present in the cultures. No significant differences between groups were found for any cell type. Fetal_replicating: Replicating neuronal progenitors (from fetal brain tissue, 16–18 weeks post-conception). Fetal_quiescent: Quiescent newly born neurons (from fetal brain tissue, 16–18 weeks post-conception). OPC oligodendrocytes precursor cells.