New release: Gene expression patterns of the developing face at single cell resolution

The following datasets have been released to FaceBase by Dr. Justin Cotney’s lab of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. A related manuscript has been accepted but not yet released; in the meantime, these data are available for the community.

Description:

Justin Cotney’s lab generated a single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) atlas of critical time points during human and mouse craniofacial development. Their analysis identified multiple subtypes of mesenchyme, epithelium, and cranial neural crest, among other functionally distinct cell types. Through cross-species comparisons, Cotney’s team identified functionally conserved cell types as well as anatomically distinct cell subtypes. Finally, following integration with data from the Gabriella Miller Kids First program, the Cotney lab revealed enrichment of de novo protein-altering variants from orofacial clefting trios in specific cell subtypes. The human and mouse snRNA-seq data from this study is now openly available through FaceBase.

FaceBase Datasets:

Alexandra Manchel, Justin Cotney. Gene expression patterns of the developing human face at single cell resolution (snRNA-seq). FaceBase Consortium https://doi.org/10.25550/8D-2JQ0 (2026).

Alexandra Manchel, Justin Cotney. Gene expression patterns of the developing mouse face at single cell resolution (snRNA-seq). FaceBase Consortium https://doi.org/10.25550/7N-54BY (2026).