scholarly journals A single-cell atlas of human fetal lung development between 14 and 19 weeks of gestation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Renesme ◽  
Flore Lesage ◽  
David Cook ◽  
Shumei Zhong ◽  
Satu M Hanninen ◽  
...  

Rationale: Human lung development has been mainly described in morphologic studies and the potential underlying molecular mechanisms were extrapolated from animal models. Therefore, there is a need to gather knowledge from native human lung tissue. In this study we describe changes at a single-cell level in human fetal lungs during the pseudoglandular stage. Methods: We report the cellular composition, cell trajectories and cell-to-cell communication in developing human lungs with single-nuclei RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) on 23,251 nuclei isolated from nine human fetuses with gestational ages between 14 to 19 weeks of gestation. Results: We identified nine different cell types, including a rare pulmonary neuroendocrine cells population. For each cell type, marker genes are reported, and selected marker genes are used for spatial validation with fluorescent RNA in situ hybridization. Enrichment and developmental trajectory analysis provide insight into molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways within individual cell clusters according to gestational age. Lastly, ligand-receptor analysis highlights determinants of cell-to-cell communication among the different cell types through the pseudoglandular stage, including general developmental pathways (NOTCH and TGFB), as well as more specific pathways involved in vasculogenesis, neurogenesis, and immune system regulation. Conclusion: These findings provide a clinically relevant background for research hypotheses generation in projects studying normal or impaired lung development and help to develop and validate surrogate models to study human lung development, such as human lung organoids.

Author(s):  
Jonas C. Schupp ◽  
Taylor S. Adams ◽  
Carlos Cosme Jr. ◽  
Micha Sam Brickman Raredon ◽  
Yifan Yuan ◽  
...  

Background: The cellular diversity of the lung endothelium has not been systematically characterized in humans. Here, we provide a reference atlas of human lung endothelial cells (ECs) to facilitate a better understanding of the phenotypic diversity and composition of cells comprising the lung endothelium. Methods: We reprocessed human control single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) data from six datasets. EC populations were characterized through iterative clustering with subsequent differential expression analysis. Marker genes were validated by fluorescent microscopy and in situ hybridization. scRNAseq of primary lung ECs cultured in-vitro was performed. The signaling network between different lung cell types was studied. For cross species analysis or disease relevance, we applied the same methods to scRNAseq data obtained from mouse lungs or from human lungs with pulmonary hypertension. Results: Six lung scRNAseq datasets were reanalyzed and annotated to identify over 15,000 vascular EC cells from 73 individuals. Differential expression analysis of EC revealed signatures corresponding to endothelial lineage, including pan-endothelial, pan-vascular and subpopulation-specific marker gene sets. Beyond the broad cellular categories of lymphatic, capillary, arterial and venous ECs, we found previously indistinguishable subpopulations: among venous EC, we identified two previously indistinguishable populations, pulmonary-venous ECs (COL15A1neg) localized to the lung parenchyma and systemic-venous ECs (COL15A1pos) localized to the airways and the visceral pleura; among capillary EC, we confirmed their subclassification into recently discovered aerocytes characterized by EDNRB, SOSTDC1 and TBX2 and general capillary EC. We confirmed that all six endothelial cell types, including the systemic-venous EC and aerocytes, are present in mice and identified endothelial marker genes conserved in humans and mice. Ligand-receptor connectome analysis revealed important homeostatic crosstalk of EC with other lung resident cell types. scRNAseq of commercially available primary lung ECs demonstrated a loss of their native lung phenotype in culture. scRNAseq revealed that the endothelial diversity is maintained in pulmonary hypertension. Our manuscript is accompanied by an online data mining tool (www.LungEndothelialCellAtlas.com). Conclusions: Our integrated analysis provides the comprehensive and well-crafted reference atlas of lung endothelial cells in the normal lung and confirms and describes in detail previously unrecognized endothelial populations across a large number of humans and mice.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenhua You ◽  
Xiangyu Li ◽  
Peng Wang ◽  
Bowen Sha ◽  
Yuan Liang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a highly aggressive biliary epithelial malignancy. Tumor invasion and metastasis contributed to the high mortality of GBC patients. However, molecular mechanisms involved in GBC metastases are still little known. Methods: We performed single-cell RNA sequencing on GBC liver metastasis tissue and analyzed the data based on different cell types.Results: In this study, 8 cell types, including T cells, B cells, malignant cells, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, macrophages, dendritic cells, and mast cells were identified. Malignant cells displayed a high degree of intra-tumor heterogenicity and neutrophils could promote GBC progression in vitro. Besides, cytotoxic CD8+ T cells became exhausted and CD4+ Tregs presented immunosuppressive characteristics. Macrophages played an important role in the tumor microenvironment. We identified three distinct macrophage subsets and emerged M2 polarization. We also found that cancer-associated fibroblasts exhibited heterogeneity and promoted GBC metastasis. Conclusions: In conclusion, our work provided a landscape view at the single-cell level and may clear the way for the therapy of GBC metastases.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Hou ◽  
Elena Denisenko ◽  
Huan Ting Ong ◽  
Jordan A. Ramilowski ◽  
Alistair R. R. Forrest

Abstract Development of high throughput single-cell sequencing technologies has made it cost-effective to profile thousands of cells from diverse samples containing multiple cell types. To study how these different cell types work together, here we develop NATMI (Network Analysis Toolkit for Multicellular Interactions). NATMI uses connectomeDB2020 (a database of 2293 manually curated ligand-receptor pairs with literature support) to predict and visualise cell-to-cell communication networks from single-cell (or bulk) expression data. Using multiple published single-cell datasets we demonstrate how NATMI can be used to identify (i) the cell-type pairs that are communicating the most (or most specifically) within a network, (ii) the most active (or specific) ligand-receptor pairs active within a network, (iii) putative highly-communicating cellular communities and (iv) differences in intercellular communication when profiling given cell types under different conditions. Furthermore, analysis of the Tabula Muris (organism-wide) atlas confirms our previous prediction that autocrine signalling is a major feature of cell-to-cell communication networks, while also revealing that hundreds of ligands and their cognate receptors are co-expressed in individual cells suggesting a substantial potential for self-signalling.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaqian Li ◽  
Qing-Yang Zhang ◽  
Bao-Fa Sun ◽  
Yidi Ma ◽  
Ye Zhang ◽  
...  

AbstractAnterior vaginal prolapse (AVP) is the most common form of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and has deleterious effects on women’s health. Despite recent advances in AVP diagnosis and treatment, a cell atlas of the vaginal wall in AVP has not been constructed. Here, we employ single-cell RNA-seq to construct a transcriptomic atlas of 81,026 individual cells in the vaginal wall from AVP and control samples and identify 11 cell types. We reveal aberrant gene expression in diverse cell types in AVP. Extracellular matrix (ECM) dysregulation and immune reactions involvement are identified in both non-immune and immune cell types. In addition, we find that several transcription factors associated with ECM and immune regulation are activated in AVP. Furthermore, we reveal dysregulated cell–cell communication patterns in AVP. Taken together, this work provides a valuable resource for deciphering the cellular heterogeneity and the molecular mechanisms underlying severe AVP.


Author(s):  
Jules Duruz ◽  
Cyrielle Kaltenrieder ◽  
Peter Ladurner ◽  
Rémy Bruggmann ◽  
Pedro Martìnez ◽  
...  

Abstract Bilaterian animals display a wide variety of cell types, organized into defined anatomical structures and organ systems, which are mostly absent in pre-bilaterian animals. Xenacoelomorpha are an early-branching bilaterian phylum displaying an apparently relatively simple anatomical organization that have greatly diverged from other bilaterian clades. In this study, we use whole-body single-cell transcriptomics on the acoel Isodiametra pulchra to identify and characterize different cell types. Our analysis identifies the existence of ten major cell type categories in acoels all contributing to main biological functions of the organism: metabolism, locomotion and movements, behavior, defense and development. Interestingly, while most cell clusters express core fate markers shared with other animal clades, we also describe a surprisingly large number of clade-specific marker genes, suggesting the emergence of clade-specific common molecular machineries functioning in distinct cell types. Together, these results provide novel insight into the evolution of bilaterian cell types and open the door to a better understanding of the origins of the bilaterian body plan and their constitutive cell types.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjeeva S Metikala ◽  
Satish Casie Chetty ◽  
Saulius Sumanas

During embryonic development, cells differentiate into a variety of distinct cell types and subtypes with diverse transcriptional profiles. To date, transcriptomic signatures of different cell lineages that arise during development have been only partially characterized. Here we used single-cell RNA-seq to perform transcriptomic analysis of over 20,000 cells disaggregated from the trunk region of zebrafish embryos at the 30 hpf stage. Transcriptional signatures of 27 different cell types and subtypes were identified and annotated during this analysis. This dataset will be a useful resource for many researchers in the fields of developmental and cellular biology and facilitate the understanding of molecular mechanisms that regulate cell lineage choices during development.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zezhen Liu ◽  
Xiaolu Duan ◽  
Xinyuan Sun ◽  
Jiehui Zhong ◽  
Wen Zhong ◽  
...  

Randall's plaque is significantly associated with the occurrence of nephrolithiasis. However, the microenvironment of Randall's plaque is poorly characterized. To investigate the microenvironment of Randall's plaque, we analyzed single-cell RNA data of 3 Randall's plaque and 3 normal renal papillae tissue and identified 11 different cell types. We screened differentially expressed genes among all cell types between Randall's plaque and normal renal papillae. The microenvironment showed two cell types with multiple stone formation-associated transcriptomic programs. Contrary to previous studies, we did not observe macrophage M1/M2 imbalance. Notably, we detected ossification-associated macrophage is enriched in Randall's plaque and validated GPNMB and ACP5 were potential biomarkers on the ossification-associated macrophage. We also identified an endothelial subset harboring active communication (COL15A1+ PCDH17+ endothelial, DPECs) with other cells. Together with Immunofluorescence, we validated ossification-associated macrophage and DPECs are enriched in Randall's plaque tissue. Finally, cell-to-cell communication revealed that Loop of Henle, DPECs, and osteoblasts-associated macrophages was the main source of SPP1 signaling. Our work will further the understanding of the microenvironment among Randall's plaque tissues and provide deep insight into immune modulation.


Author(s):  
Yiheng Peng ◽  
Huanyu Qiao

Meiosis is a cellular division process that produces gametes for sexual reproduction. Disruption of complex events throughout meiosis, such as synapsis and homologous recombination, can lead to infertility and aneuploidy. To reveal the molecular mechanisms of these events, transcriptome studies of specific substages must be conducted. However, conventional methods, such as bulk RNA-seq and RT-qPCR, are not able to detect the transcriptional variations effectively and precisely, especially for identifying cell types and stages with subtle differences. In recent years, mammalian meiotic transcriptomes have been intensively studied at the single-cell level by using single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) approaches, especially through two widely used platforms, Smart-seq2 and Drop-seq. The scRNA-seq protocols along with their downstream analysis enable researchers to accurately identify cell heterogeneities and investigate meiotic transcriptomes at a higher resolution. In this review, we compared bulk RNA-seq and scRNA-seq to show the advantages of the scRNA-seq in meiosis studies; meanwhile, we also pointed out the challenges and limitations of the scRNA-seq. We listed recent findings from mammalian meiosis (male and female) studies where scRNA-seq applied. Next, we summarized the scRNA-seq analysis methods and the meiotic marker genes from spermatocytes and oocytes. Specifically, we emphasized the different features of the two scRNA-seq protocols (Smart-seq2 and Drop-seq) in the context of meiosis studies and discussed their strengths and weaknesses in terms of different research purposes. Finally, we discussed the future applications of scRNA-seq in the meiosis field.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pawan K. Jha ◽  
Utham K. Valekunja ◽  
Sandipan Ray ◽  
Mathieu Nollet ◽  
Akhilesh B. Reddy

Every day, we sleep for a third of the day. Sleep is important for cognition, brain waste clearance, metabolism, and immune responses. The molecular mechanisms governing sleep are largely unknown. Here, we used a combination of single cell RNA sequencing and cell-type specific proteomics to interrogate the molecular underpinnings of sleep. Different cell types in three important brain regions for sleep (brainstem, cortex, and hypothalamus) exhibited diverse transcriptional responses to sleep need. Sleep restriction modulates astrocyte-neuron crosstalk and sleep need enhances expression of specific sets of transcription factors in different brain regions. In cortex, we also interrogated the proteome of two major cell types: astrocytes and neurons. Sleep deprivation differentially alters the expression of proteins in astrocytes and neurons. Similarly, phosphoproteomics revealed large shifts in cell-type specific protein phosphorylation. Our results indicate that sleep need regulates transcriptional, translational, and post-translational responses in a cell-specific manner.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas C. Schupp ◽  
Taylor S. Adams ◽  
Carlos Cosme ◽  
Micha Sam Brickman Raredon ◽  
Norihito Omote ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundDespite its importance in health and disease, the cellular diversity of the lung endothelium has not been systematically characterized in humans. Here we provide a reference atlas of human lung endothelial cells (ECs), to facilitate a better understanding of the phenotypic diversity and composition of cells comprising the lung endothelium, both in health and disease.MethodsWe reprocessed control single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) data from five datasets of whole lungs that were used for the analysis of pan-endothelial markers, we later included a sixth dataset of sorted control EC for the vascular subpopulation analysis. EC populations were characterized through iterative clustering with subsequent differential expression analysis. Marker genes were validated by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. Signaling network between different lung cell types was studied using connectomic analysis. For cross species analysis we applied the same methods to scRNAseq data obtained from mouse lungs.ResultsThe six lung scRNAseq datasets were reanalyzed and annotated to identify over 15,000 vascular EC cells from 73 individuals. Differential expression analysis of EC revealed signatures corresponding to endothelial lineage, including pan-endothelial, pan-vascular and subpopulation-specific marker gene sets. Beyond the broad cellular categories of lymphatic, capillary, arterial and venous ECs we found previously indistinguishable subpopulations; among venous EC we identified two previously indistinguishable populations, pulmonary-venous ECs (COL15A1neg) localized to the lung parenchyma and systemic-venous ECs (COL15A1pos) localized to the airways and the visceral pleura; among capillary EC we confirmed their subclassification into recently discovered aerocytes characterized by EDNRB, SOSTDC1 and TBX2 and general capillary EC. We confirmed that all six endothelial cell types, including the systemic-venous EC and aerocytes are present in mice and identified endothelial marker genes conserved in humans and mice. Ligand-Receptor connectome analysis revealed important homeostatic crosstalk of EC with other lung resident cell types. Our manuscript is accompanied by an online data mining tool (www.LungEndothelialCellAtlas.com).ConclusionOur integrated analysis provides the comprehensive and well-crafted reference atlas of lung endothelial cells in the normal lung and confirms and describes in detail previously unrecognized endothelial populations across a large number of humans and mice.


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