The main human limb buds develop into arms and legs during the first trimester of pregnancy. Through the use of model organisms like mice and chicks, scientists have gained insight into the process of limb development. However, it is still unclear how this knowledge translates to human development and disease. To address this, researchers conducted single-cell transcriptomic RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomic sequencing to study the development of the human hindlimb. They identified distinct cell clusters and mapped them across different timepoints, shedding light on limb development and malformations. The study also compared limb development between humans and mice, revealing similarities between the two species.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06806-x