A Role for Astrocyte Metabolism in Species-Specific Neuronal Development

Human neurons develop more slowly than non-human primate (NHP) neurons, a phenomenon called neoteny, but research has primarily focused on neuron-intrinsic drivers. We hoped to further elucidate any species-specific divergence in function and the astrocytes’ role in influencing species-specific neurodevelopment rate. In this study, we identified a delayed onset of gliogenesis in human versus NHP organoid models. Transcriptomic and ¹³ C metabolic flux analyses of iPSC-derived astrocytes revealed distinct metabolic profiles: NHP astrocytes exhibit increased serine and glycine synthesis, whereas human astrocytes show elevated lactate secretion, suggesting a change in the metabolic role of astrocytes across primate evolution. We then assessed the impact of these different species’ astrocytes on neuronal development. We observed an increase in electrophysiological maturation and a change in transcriptomic neuronal development trajectory in human neurons cultured with rhesus astrocyte conditioned media as opposed to human astrocyte conditioned media. Human astrocyte secretomes were enriched for synaptogenic and axon-growth proteins, which could indicate they play a greater role in supporting structural complexity and dendritic arborization over rapid maturation when compared to NHP astrocytes. Finally, chemical inhibition of PHGDH demonstrated that these changes in neuronal differentiation are partially mediated by the different metabolic roles that astrocytes play in humans versus NHPs. Collectively, our results reveal a cell-extrinsic role for astrocyte metabolism in shaping human-specific neurodevelopmental timing and trajectories.