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While motor neurons (MNs) are the selectively vulnerable cell type, their interactions with glia contribute to the progression of ALS pathology. However, it remains unclear whether the site of ALS symptom onset influences the molecular alterations underlying MN and glial dysfunction and whether these alterations are shared between the MTC and lumbar spinal cord (LSC). To address these questions, we constructed spatially-resolved gene expression maps of the MTC and LSC by combining spatial and single-nucleus transcriptomic profiles from a cohort of non-neurological controls and ALS donors clinically stratified by site of symptom onset. In the ventral horn of the LSC, we see a decrease in genes associated with MNs and synaptic signaling in ALS donors. We also identify region-specific alterations in endothelial- and glial-related functions. Notably, the severity of these MN deficits and endothelial-related functions is influenced by the site of symptom onset, whereas alterations in glial function largely are not. In contrast to the LSC, we observe layer-specific increases in synaptic signaling in the MTC of ALS donors. Comparing the molecular and cellular changes within the LSC and MTC in ALS indicates that they are predominantly non-overlapping, and have different molecular signatures.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.64898\/2026.07.24.740361","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T01:55:18Z","timestamp":1785290118000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A multi-omics characterization reveals distinct molecular signatures in the human motor cortex and lumbar spinal cord in ALS"],"prefix":"10.64898","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1208-0453","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Natalie","family":"Barretto","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA"},{"name":"Motor Neuron Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA"},{"name":"Center for Genomics of Neurodegenerative Disease, New York Genome Center, New York, NY, 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