Documentation of the structure and content of SEA-AD Neuropathology dataset

Data Structure and Content

The Seattle Alzheimer’s Disease Brain Cell Atlas (SEA-AD) consortium strives to gain a deep molecular and cellular understanding of the early pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease.  To accomplish this, we are leveraging advances in next-generation single-cell molecular profiling technologies developed through the BRAIN Initiative and at the Allen Institute for Brain Science. We are integrating single-cell profiling technologies with quantitative neuropathology and deep clinical phenotyping through collaboration with the University of Washington and Kaiser Permanente Washington Research Institute. We seek to understand the cellular and molecular changes that underly Alzheimer’s disease initiation and progressive cognitive decline, with the ultimate goal of identifying targets for therapeutic intervention.

The dataset is a collection of raw full resolution neuropathology images of human brain tissue and state-of-the-art quantitative analysis of those images. Data is derived from an aged cohort of donors who span the full spectrum of Alzheimer's disease severity. Images show immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of cell-type specific and pathological protein markers of particular importance to Alzheimer’s disease pathology. The dataset features neuropathology stains: Neurons (NeuN), pTau (At8), pTDP43, Beta-amyloid (6E10), Microglia (IBA1), Astrocytes (GFAP), a-Synuclein, H-E-LFB (hematoxylin and eosin, luxol fast blue. The initial dataset includes images from the middle temporal gyrus brain region in 84 donors. Future contributions will expand to other brain regions including dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and medial entorhinal cortex.