scholarly journals Highly resolved spatial transcriptomics for detection of rare events in cells

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Groiss ◽  
Daniela Pabst ◽  
Cynthia Faber ◽  
Andreas Meier ◽  
Annette Bogdoll ◽  
...  

AbstractSingle-cell spatial transcriptomics technologies leveraged the potential to transcriptionally landscape sophisticated reactions in cells. Current methods to delineate such complex interplay lack the flexibility in rapid target adaptation and are particularly restricted in detecting rare transcripts. We developed a multiplex single-cell RNA In-situ hybridization technique, called ‘Molecular Cartography’ (MC) that can be easily tailored to specific applications and, by providing unprecedented sensitivity, specificity and resolution, is particularly suitable in tracing rare events at a subcellular level. Using a SARS-CoV-2 infection model, MC allows the discernment of single events in host-pathogen interactions, dissects primary from secondary responses, and illustrates differences in antiviral signaling pathways affected by SARS-CoV-2, simultaneously in various cell types.

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rishikesh Kumar Gupta ◽  
Jacek Kuznicki

The present review discusses recent progress in single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), which can describe cellular heterogeneity in various organs, bodily fluids, and pathologies (e.g., cancer and Alzheimer’s disease). We outline scRNA-seq techniques that are suitable for investigating cellular heterogeneity that is present in cell populations with very high resolution of the transcriptomic landscape. We summarize scRNA-seq findings and applications of this technology to identify cell types, activity, and other features that are important for the function of different bodily organs. We discuss future directions for scRNA-seq techniques that can link gene expression, protein expression, cellular function, and their roles in pathology. We speculate on how the field could develop beyond its present limitations (e.g., performing scRNA-seq in situ and in vivo). Finally, we discuss the integration of machine learning and artificial intelligence with cutting-edge scRNA-seq technology, which could provide a strong basis for designing precision medicine and targeted therapy in the future.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnav Moudgil ◽  
Michael N. Wilkinson ◽  
Xuhua Chen ◽  
June He ◽  
Alex J. Cammack ◽  
...  

AbstractIn situ measurements of transcription factor (TF) binding are confounded by cellular heterogeneity and represent averaged profiles in complex tissues. Single cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) is capable of resolving different cell types based on gene expression profiles, but no technology exists to directly link specific cell types to the binding pattern of TFs in those cell types. Here, we present self-reporting transposons (SRTs) and their use in single cell calling cards (scCC), a novel assay for simultaneously capturing gene expression profiles and mapping TF binding sites in single cells. First, we show how the genomic locations of SRTs can be recovered from mRNA. Next, we demonstrate that SRTs deposited by the piggyBac transposase can be used to map the genome-wide localization of the TFs SP1, through a direct fusion of the two proteins, and BRD4, through its native affinity for piggyBac. We then present the scCC method, which maps SRTs from scRNA-seq libraries, thus enabling concomitant identification of cell types and TF binding sites in those same cells. As a proof-of-concept, we show recovery of cell type-specific BRD4 and SP1 binding sites from cultured cells. Finally, we map Brd4 binding sites in the mouse cortex at single cell resolution, thus establishing a new technique for studying TF biology in situ.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Li ◽  
Zuwan Lin ◽  
Ren Liu ◽  
Xin Tang ◽  
Jiahao Huang ◽  
...  

AbstractPairwise mapping of single-cell gene expression and electrophysiology in intact three-dimensional (3D) tissues is crucial for studying electrogenic organs (e.g., brain and heart)1–5. Here, we introducein situelectro-sequencing (electro-seq), combining soft bioelectronics within situRNA sequencing to stably map millisecond-timescale cellular electrophysiology and simultaneously profile a large number of genes at single-cell level across 3D tissues. We appliedin situelectro-seq to 3D human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte (hiPSC-CM) patches, precisely registering the CM gene expression with electrophysiology at single-cell level, enabling multimodalin situanalysis. Such multimodal data integration substantially improved the dissection of cell types and the reconstruction of developmental trajectory from spatially heterogeneous tissues. Using machine learning (ML)-based cross-modal analysis,in situelectro-seq identified the gene-to-electrophysiology relationship over the time course of cardiac maturation. Further leveraging such a relationship to train a coupled autoencoder, we demonstrated the prediction of single-cell gene expression profile evolution using long-term electrical measurement from the same cardiac patch or 3D millimeter-scale cardiac organoids. As exemplified by cardiac tissue maturation,in situelectro-seq will be broadly applicable to create spatiotemporal multimodal maps and predictive models in electrogenic organs, allowing discovery of cell types and gene programs responsible for electrophysiological function and dysfunction.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Navin ◽  
Runmin Wei ◽  
Siyuan He ◽  
Shanshan Bai ◽  
Emi Sei ◽  
...  

Single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) methods can profile the transcriptomes of single cells but cannot preserve spatial information. Conversely, spatial transcriptomics (ST) assays can profile spatial regions in tissue sections, but do not have single cell genomic resolution. Here, we developed a computational approach called SChart, that combines these two datasets to achieve single cell spatial mapping of cell types, cell states and continuous phenotypes. We applied SChart to reconstruct cellular spatial structures in existing datasets from normal mouse brain and kidney tissues to validate our approach. We also performed scRNA-seq and ST experiments on two ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) tissues and applied SChart to identify subclones that were restricted to different ducts, and specific T cell states adjacent to the tumor areas. Our data shows that SChart can accurately map single cells in diverse tissue types to resolve their spatial organization into cellular neighborhoods and tissue structures.


1993 ◽  
Vol 265 (2) ◽  
pp. G394-G402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Li ◽  
M. F. Goy

Guanylate cyclases play a role in both physiological and pathological secretion in the mammalian intestine. Agents that raise guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) levels, such as atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), guanylin (an endogenous intestinal peptide), or Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin type a (STa; a bacterial toxin), enhance electrolyte secretion and the accumulation of luminal fluid. Although secretion in all parts of intestine is sensitive to changes in cGMP metabolism, an increasing body of evidence suggests that these responses are particularly important in proximal colon. To date, three peptide-sensitive membrane-bound guanylate cyclases [types A, B, and C (GCA, GCB, and GCC, respectively)] have been cloned from mammalian tissues. GCA responds to ANP, GCB to C-type natriuretic peptide, and GCC to guanylin and STa. Expression of these receptor/cyclase genes has not previously been investigated at the cellular level in the colon. Nucleotide probes specific for GCA, GCB, GCC, and guanylin were generated by polymerase chain reaction. These probes were used to evaluate colonic cyclase and guanylin mRNA expression in the rat. GCB mRNA is not detectable in this tissue either by in situ hybridization or by Northern blot analysis. In contrast, GCA, GCC, and guanylin mRNAs are all conspicuously expressed. With the in situ hybridization technique, GCA mRNA expression is seen in cells in the lamina propria. GCC mRNA expression is seen in epithelial cells throughout colonic crypts, and also, although at a slightly lower level, in cells of the surface epithelium.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Nagendran ◽  
Daniel P Riordan ◽  
Pehr B Harbury ◽  
Tushar J Desai

A major challenge in biology is identifying distinct cell classes and mapping their interactions in vivo. Tissue-dissociative technologies enable deep single cell molecular profiling but do not provide spatial information. We developed a proximity ligation in situ hybridization technology (PLISH) with exceptional signal strength, specificity, and sensitivity in tissue. Multiplexed data sets can be acquired using barcoded probes and rapid label-image-erase cycles, with automated calculation of single cell profiles, enabling clustering and anatomical re-mapping of cells. We apply PLISH to expression profile ~2900 cells in intact mouse lung, which identifies and localizes known cell types, including rare ones. Unsupervised classification of the cells indicates differential expression of ‘housekeeping’ genes between cell types, and re-mapping of two sub-classes of Club cells highlights their segregated spatial domains in terminal airways. By enabling single cell profiling of various RNA species in situ, PLISH can impact many areas of basic and medical research.


Microbiology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 157 (9) ◽  
pp. 2456-2469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kassem Hamze ◽  
Sabine Autret ◽  
Krzysztof Hinc ◽  
Soumaya Laalami ◽  
Daria Julkowska ◽  
...  

The non-domesticated Bacillus subtilis strain 3610 displays, over a wide range of humidity, hyper-branched, dendritic, swarming-like migration on a minimal agar medium. At high (70 %) humidity, the laboratory strain 168 sfp + (producing surfactin) behaves very similarly, although this strain carries a frameshift mutation in swrA, which another group has shown under their conditions (which include low humidity) is essential for swarming. We reconcile these different results by demonstrating that, while swrA is essential for dendritic migration at low humidity (30–40 %), it is dispensable at high humidity. Dendritic migration (flagella- and surfactin-dependent) of strains 168 sfp + swrA and 3610 involves elongation of dendrites for several hours as a monolayer of cells in a thin fluid film. This enabled us to determine in situ the spatiotemporal pattern of expression of some key players in migration as dendrites develop, using gfp transcriptional fusions for hag (encoding flagellin), comA (regulation of surfactin synthesis) as well as eps (exopolysaccharide synthesis). Quantitative (single-cell) analysis of hag expression in situ revealed three spatially separated subpopulations or cell types: (i) networks of chains arising early in the mother colony (MC), expressing eps but not hag; (ii) largely immobile cells in dendrite stems expressing intermediate levels of hag; and (iii) a subpopulation of cells with several distinctive features, including very low comA expression but hyper-expression of hag (and flagella). These specialized cells emerge from the MC to spearhead the terminal 1 mm of dendrite tips as swirling and streaming packs, a major characteristic of swarming migration. We discuss a model for this swarming process, emphasizing the importance of population density and of the complementary roles of packs of swarmers driving dendrite extension, while non-mobile cells in the stems extend dendrites by multiplication.


eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margherita Perillo ◽  
Nathalie Oulhen ◽  
Stephany Foster ◽  
Maxwell Spurrell ◽  
Cristina Calestani ◽  
...  

Cells bearing pigment have diverse roles and are often under strict evolutionary selection. Here, we explore the regulation of pigmented cells in the purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, an emerging model for diverse pigment function. We took advantage of single cell RNA-seq (scRNAseq) technology and discovered that pigment cells in the embryo segregated into two distinct populations, a mitotic cluster and a post-mitotic cluster. Gcm is essential for expression of several genes important for pigment function, but is only transiently expressed in these cells. We discovered unique genes expressed by pigment cells and test their expression with double fluorescence in situ hybridization. These genes include new members of the fmo family that are expressed selectively in pigment cells of the embryonic and in the coelomic cells of the adult - both cell-types having immune functions. Overall, this study identifies nodes of molecular intersection ripe for change by selective evolutionary pressures.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Lidia Diaz Soria ◽  
Jayhun Lee ◽  
Tracy Chong ◽  
Avril Coghlan ◽  
Alan Tracey ◽  
...  

AbstractOver 250 million people suffer from schistosomiasis, a tropical disease caused by parasitic flatworms known as schistosomes. Humans become infected by free-swimming, water-borne larvae, which penetrate the skin. The earliest intra-mammalian stage, called the schistosomulum, undergoes a series of developmental transitions. These changes are critical for the parasite to adapt to its new environment as it navigates through host tissues to reach its niche, where it will grow to reproductive maturity. Unravelling the mechanisms that drive intra-mammalian development requires knowledge of the spatial organisation and transcriptional dynamics of different cell types that comprise the schistomulum body. To fill these important knowledge gaps, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing on two-day old schistosomula of Schistosoma mansoni. We identified likely gene expression profiles for muscle, nervous system, tegument, parenchymal/primordial gut cells, and stem cells. In addition, we validated cell markers for all these clusters by in situ hybridisation in schistosomula and adult parasites. Taken together, this study provides a comprehensive cell-type atlas for the early intra-mammalian stage of this devastating metazoan parasite.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Codeluppi ◽  
Lars E. Borm ◽  
Amit Zeisel ◽  
Gioele La Manno ◽  
Josina A. van Lunteren ◽  
...  

The global efforts towards the creation of a molecular census of the brain using single-cell transcriptomics is generating a large catalog of molecularly defined cell types lacking spatial information. Thus, new methods are needed to map a large number of cell-specific markers simultaneously on large tissue areas. Here, we developed a cyclic single molecule fluorescence in situ hybridization methodology and defined the cellular organization of the somatosensory cortex using markers identified by single-cell transcriptomics.


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