Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41422267›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Mapping cis- and trans-regulatory target genes of human-specific deletions.

Tyler Fair, Bryan J Pavlovic, Dani Swope, Octavio E Castillo, Nathan K Schaefer, Alex A Pollen

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Human-specific gene expansions contribute to brain evolution.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Reconstructing human-specific regulatory functions in model systems.Current opinion in genetics & development · 2024
    Review
  7. Review
  8. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Tyler FairEli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Bryan J PavlovicEli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Dani SwopeEli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Octavio E CastilloQuantitative Biosciences Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Nathan K SchaeferEli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5881-7329
Alex A PollenEli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. alex.pollen@ucsf.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3263-8634

Funding

Yerkes National Primate Research Center Role of type-I IFN in regulating COVID-19 induced inflammation and pathogenesisP51OD011132 · OD · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI Joon Sup Lee · 2012 to 2026
$167.0M
Establishing A Stem Cell Biology Platform for Decoding the Genetic Basis of Human Brain SpecializationsDP2MH122400 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI POLLEN, ALEXANDER A · 2019 to 2019
$2.4M
Functional Genetics Approaches to Investigate Human EvolutionF31HG011569 · NHGRI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI FAIR, TYLER · 2021 to 2023
$114k
NHGRI NIH HHS F31 HG011569NIH HHS P51 OD011132NIMH NIH HHS DP2 MH122400U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health (NIH) F31 HG011569-01A1U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) DP2MH122400-01
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Deletion of functional sequence is predicted to represent a fundamental mechanism of molecular evolution. Comparative genetic studies of primates have identified thousands of human-specific deletions (hDels), and the cis-regulatory potential of short (≤31 base pairs) hDels has been assessed using reporter assays. However, how structural variant-sized (≥50 base pairs) hDels influence molecular and cellular processes in their native genomic contexts remains unexplored. Here, we design genome-scale libraries of single-guide RNAs targeting 7.2 megabases of sequence in 6358 hDels and present a systematic CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) screening approach to identify hDels that modify cellular proliferation in chimpanzee pluripotent stem cells. By intersecting hDels with chromatin state features and performing single-cell CRISPRi (Perturb-seq) to identify their cis- and trans-regulatory target genes, we discovered 20 hDels controlling gene expression. We highlight two hDels, hDel_2247 and hDel_585, with tissue-specific activity in the brain. Our findings reveal a molecular and cellular role for sequences lost in the human lineage and establish a framework for functionally interrogating human-specific genetic variants.

Indexed as

Sequence DeletionAnimalsBrainCell ProliferationChromatinCRISPR-Cas SystemsGene Expression RegulationGenome, HumanHumansPan troglodytesPluripotent Stem CellsRNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas SystemsChromatinRNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas Systems

Identifiers

PMID41422267
PMCPMC12727812

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.