All human donors were deceased. Informed consent was obtained for all donors via next-of-kin consent to permit the collection and banking of de-identified tissue samples for scientific research. The research protocol was reviewed by Chesapeake Research Review Inc., Roswell Park Cancer Institute’s Office of Research Subject Protection, and the institutional review board of the University of Pennsylvania. Complete descriptions of the donor enrolment and consent process, as well as biospecimen procurement, methods, sample fixation, and histopathological review procedures, have been described previously10,67. In brief, whole blood was collected from each donor, along with fresh skin samples, for DNA genotyping, RNA expression, and culturing of lymphoblastoid and fibroblast cells, and shipped overnight to the GTEx Laboratory Data Analysis and Coordination Center (LDACC) at the Broad Institute. Two adjacent aliquots were then prepared from each sampled tissue and preserved in PAXgene tissue kits. One of each paired sample was embedded in paraffin (PFPE) for histopathological review and the second was shipped to the LDACC for processing and molecular analysis. Brains were collected from approximately one-third of the donors, and were shipped on
