{
  "abstract": "Increased understanding of the functional complexity of the genome has led to growing recognition of the role of non-sequence-based regulatory variation in disorders of the human central nervous system. Most genomic analyses of the brain are limited by the use of bulk tissue, which comprises a heterogeneous mix of different neural cell types with distinct epigenetic profiles, thereby limiting the ability to attribute regulatory changes to specific cell populations. Given the limited availability of human post-mortem tissue resources and the importance of integrating multi-omic data from the same samples, there is a critical need for methods that enable parallel, cell-type–resolved genomic profiling. We present optimised protocols using fluorescence-activated nuclei sorting (FANS) to isolate nuclei from different human and mouse brain cell types for downstream multi-omic analysis. Our approach enables the robust purification of neuronal, oligodendrocyte, microglial and other glial-origin nuclei from both adult and fetal brain tissue. We demonstrate that FANS-isolated nuclei are compatible with a wide range of genomic assays, including profiling of DNA modifications, histone modifications, chromatin accessibility, and gene expression. This protocol maximises the utility of limited post-mortem tissue resources and provides a unified workflow for comprehensive, cell-type–specific interrogation of molecular mechanisms involved in the brain.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Clinical & Biomedical Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, United Kingdom",
    "Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom",
    "UK Dementia Research Institute, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom",
    "Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom"
  ],
  "article_type": "Lab Protocol",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 19,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Barry Chioza"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Stefania Policicchio"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Joe Burrage"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Georgina E. T. Blake"
    },
    {
      "name": "Rosemary A. Bamford"
    },
    {
      "name": "Alice Franklin"
    },
    {
      "name": "Darren Soanes"
    },
    {
      "name": "Philippa M. Wells"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ann Babtie"
    },
    {
      "name": "Marina Flores Payan"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jonathan P. Davies"
    },
    {
      "name": "Anthony Klokkaris"
    },
    {
      "name": "Emma M. Walker"
    },
    {
      "name": "Joy N. Ismail"
    },
    {
      "name": "Paulina Urbanaviciute"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sarah J. Marzi"
    },
    {
      "name": "Eilis Hannon"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jonathan Mill"
    },
    {
      "name": "Emma L. Dempster"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bk8rcw2e0wcdn.bib",
  "cited_by": 1,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0359643",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "bk8rcw2e0wcdn",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359643",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Biochemistry/Nucleic acids/DNA/DNA modification/DNA methylation"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Cell biology/Cellular types/Animal cells/Glial cells/Microglial cells"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Cell biology/Cellular types/Animal cells/Neurons"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Cell biology/Chromosome biology/Chromatin"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Cell biology/Chromosome biology/Chromatin/Chromatin modification/DNA methylation"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Genetics/DNA/DNA modification/DNA methylation"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Genetics/Epigenetics/Chromatin"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Genetics/Epigenetics/Chromatin/Chromatin modification/DNA methylation"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Genetics/Epigenetics/DNA modification/DNA methylation"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Genetics/Gene expression"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Genetics/Gene expression/Chromatin"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Genetics/Gene expression/Chromatin/Chromatin modification/DNA methylation"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Genetics/Gene expression/DNA modification/DNA methylation"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Genetics/Genomics/Animal genomics/Mammalian genomics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Molecular biology/Molecular biology techniques/Marker genes"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Cellular neuroscience/Neurons"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Research and analysis methods/Molecular biology techniques/Marker genes"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Research and analysis methods/Specimen preparation and treatment/Staining/Nuclear staining"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7220714827",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0359643&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-06",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bk8rcw2e0wcdn.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:30Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0359643",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359643"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "plos:gene expression",
      "subfield": "molecular-biology"
    },
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:cell biology",
      "subfield": "cell-biology"
    },
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:genetics",
      "subfield": "genetics-genomics"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Optimised fluorescence-activated nuclei sorting for epigenomic analysis of cortical cell types",
  "title_text": "Optimised fluorescence-activated nuclei sorting for epigenomic analysis of cortical cell types",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:30Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bk8rcw2e0wcdn",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
  "versions": []
}