scREAD

scREAD provides an integrated database and analysis suite for single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) and single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-Seq) datasets related to Alzheimer's disease to enable investigation of cellular heterogeneity and molecular mechanisms underlying AD.

Key Features:

• Extensive Dataset Coverage: Contains 73 datasets from 15 studies across 10 brain regions comprising over 713,640 individual cell and nucleus profiles from scRNA-Seq and snRNA-Seq experiments.
• Control Atlas Construction: Supports creation of reference control atlases to define normal cellular states in brain tissue.
• Cell Type Prediction: Provides computational identification and classification of cell types within single-cell and single-nucleus datasets.
• Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) Identification: Identifies genes with significant expression changes between diseased and control states or among cell types.
• Cell-Type-Specific Regulons Identification: Detects regulons and putative regulatory networks specific to particular cell types.
• Backend Workflow: Includes a backend analysis workflow to support tailored computational analyses.
• Cross-Species Data: Integrates datasets from human postmortem brain tissue and mouse models of AD to enable cross-species comparisons.

Scientific Applications:

• Understanding Cellular Vulnerability: Uses single-cell transcriptomic data to elucidate why specific brain cell types are more susceptible to AD pathology.
• Comparative Studies Across Conditions: Enables comparison of gene expression profiles across brain regions and between control and diseased states to identify biomarkers or targets.
• Cross-Species Translational Analysis: Facilitates human–mouse comparisons to support translational research on AD mechanisms and interventions.

Methodology:

Computational methods explicitly include control atlas construction, cell type prediction, identification of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), identification of cell-type-specific regulons, and an associated backend analysis workflow.