scholarly journals Paths and pathways that generate cell-type heterogeneity and developmental progression in hematopoiesis

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliet R Girard ◽  
Lauren M Goins ◽  
Dung M Vuu ◽  
Mark S Sharpley ◽  
Carrie M Spratford ◽  
...  

Mechanistic studies of Drosophila lymph gland hematopoiesis are limited by the availability of cell-type specific markers. Using a combination of bulk RNA-Seq of FACS-sorted cells, single cell RNA-Seq, and genetic dissection, we identify new blood cell subpopulations along a developmental trajectory with multiple paths to mature cell types. This provides functional insights into key developmental processes and signaling pathways. We highlight metabolism as a driver of development, show that graded Pointed expression allows distinct roles in successive developmental steps, and that mature crystal cells specifically express an alternate isoform of Hypoxia-inducible factor (Hif/Sima). Mechanistically, the Musashi-regulated protein Numb facilitates Sima-dependent non-canonical, and inhibits canonical, Notch signaling. Broadly, we find that prior to making a fate choice, a progenitor selects between alternative, biologically relevant, transitory states allowing smooth transitions reflective of combinatorial expressions rather than stepwise binary decisions. Increasingly, this view is gaining support in mammalian hematopoiesis.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliet R. Girard ◽  
Lauren M. Goins ◽  
Dung M. Vuu ◽  
Mark S. Sharpley ◽  
Carrie M. Spratford ◽  
...  

AbstractMechanistic studies of Drosophila lymph gland hematopoiesis are limited by the availability of cell-type specific markers. Using a combination of bulk RNA-Seq of FACS-sorted cells, single cell RNA-Seq and genetic dissection, we identify new blood cell subpopulations along a developmental trajectory with multiple paths to mature cell types. This provides functional insights into key developmental processes and signaling pathways. We highlight metabolism as a driver of development, show that graded Pointed expression allows distinct roles in successive developmental steps, and that mature crystal cells specifically express an alternate isoform of Hypoxia-inducible factor (Hif/Sima). Mechanistically, the Musashi-regulated protein Numb facilitates Sima-dependent non-canonical, while inhibiting canonical, Notch signaling. Broadly, we find that prior to making a fate choice, a progenitor selects between alternative, biologically relevant, transitory states allowing smooth transitions reflective of combinatorial expressions rather than stepwise binary decisions. Increasingly, this view is gaining support in mammalian hematopoiesis.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohit Goyal ◽  
Guillermo Serrano ◽  
Ilan Shomorony ◽  
Mikel Hernaez ◽  
Idoia Ochoa

AbstractSingle-cell RNA-seq is a powerful tool in the study of the cellular composition of different tissues and organisms. A key step in the analysis pipeline is the annotation of cell-types based on the expression of specific marker genes. Since manual annotation is labor-intensive and does not scale to large datasets, several methods for automated cell-type annotation have been proposed based on supervised learning. However, these methods generally require feature extraction and batch alignment prior to classification, and their performance may become unreliable in the presence of cell-types with very similar transcriptomic profiles, such as differentiating cells. We propose JIND, a framework for automated cell-type identification based on neural networks that directly learns a low-dimensional representation (latent code) in which cell-types can be reliably determined. To account for batch effects, JIND performs a novel asymmetric alignment in which the transcriptomic profile of unseen cells is mapped onto the previously learned latent space, hence avoiding the need of retraining the model whenever a new dataset becomes available. JIND also learns cell-type-specific confidence thresholds to identify and reject cells that cannot be reliably classified. We show on datasets with and without batch effects that JIND classifies cells more accurately than previously proposed methods while rejecting only a small proportion of cells. Moreover, JIND batch alignment is parallelizable, being more than five or six times faster than Seurat integration. Availability: https://github.com/mohit1997/JIND.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew N. Bernstein ◽  
Zhongjie Ma ◽  
Michael Gleicher ◽  
Colin N. Dewey

SummaryCell type annotation is a fundamental task in the analysis of single-cell RNA-sequencing data. In this work, we present CellO, a machine learning-based tool for annotating human RNA-seq data with the Cell Ontology. CellO enables accurate and standardized cell type classification by considering the rich hierarchical structure of known cell types, a source of prior knowledge that is not utilized by existing methods. Furthemore, CellO comes pre-trained on a novel, comprehensive dataset of human, healthy, untreated primary samples in the Sequence Read Archive, which to the best of our knowledge, is the most diverse curated collection of primary cell data to date. CellO’s comprehensive training set enables it to run out-of-the-box on diverse cell types and achieves superior or competitive performance when compared to existing state-of-the-art methods. Lastly, CellO’s linear models are easily interpreted, thereby enabling exploration of cell type-specific expression signatures across the ontology. To this end, we also present the CellO Viewer: a web application for exploring CellO’s models across the ontology.HighlightWe present CellO, a tool for hierarchically classifying cell type from single-cell RNA-seq data against the graph-structured Cell OntologyCellO is pre-trained on a comprehensive dataset comprising nearly all bulk RNA-seq primary cell samples in the Sequence Read ArchiveCellO achieves superior or comparable performance with existing methods while featuring a more comprehensive pre-packaged training setCellO is built with easily interpretable models which we expose through a novel web application, the CellO Viewer, for exploring cell type-specific signatures across the Cell OntologyGraphical Abstract


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhengyu Ouyang ◽  
Nathanael Bourgeois ◽  
Eugenia Lyashenko ◽  
Paige Cundiff ◽  
Patrick F Cullen ◽  
...  

Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derived cell types are increasingly employed as in vitro model systems for drug discovery. For these studies to be meaningful, it is important to understand the reproducibility of the iPSC-derived cultures and their similarity to equivalent endogenous cell types. Single-cell and single-nucleus RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) are useful to gain such understanding, but they are expensive and time consuming, while bulk RNA-seq data can be generated quicker and at lower cost. In silico cell type decomposition is an efficient, inexpensive, and convenient alternative that can leverage bulk RNA-seq to derive more fine-grained information about these cultures. We developed CellMap, a computational tool that derives cell type profiles from publicly available single-cell and single-nucleus datasets to infer cell types in bulk RNA-seq data from iPSC-derived cell lines.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e19013-e19013
Author(s):  
Marianne T. Santaguida ◽  
Ryosuke Kita ◽  
Steven A. Schaffert ◽  
Erica K. Anderson ◽  
Kamran A Ali ◽  
...  

e19013 Background: Understanding the heterogeneity of AML is necessary for developing targeted drugs and diagnostics. A key measure of heterogeneity is the variance in response to treatments. Previously, we developed an ex vivo flow cytometry drug sensitivity assay (DSA) that predicted response to treatments in myelodysplastic syndrome. Unlike bulk cell viability measures of other drug sensitivity assays, our flow cytometry assay provides single cell resolution. The assay measures a drug’s effect on the viability or functional state of specific cell types. Here we present the development of this technology for AML, with additional measurements of DNA-Seq and RNA-Seq. Using the data from this assay, we aim to characterize the heterogeneity in AML drug sensitivity and the molecular mechanisms that drive it. Methods: As an initial feasibility analysis, we assayed 1 bone marrow and 3 peripheral blood AML patient samples. For the DSA, the samples were cultured with six AML standard of care (SOC) compounds across seven doses, in addition to two combinations. The cells were stained to detect multiple cell types including tumor blasts, and drug response was measured by flow cytometry. For the multi-omics, the cells were magnetically sorted to enrich for blasts and then assayed using a targeted 400 gene DNA-Seq panel and whole bulk transcriptome RNA-Seq. For comparison with BeatAML, Pearson correlations between gene expression and venetoclax sensitivity were investigated. Results: In our drug sensitivity assay, we measured dose response curves for the six SOC compounds, for each different cell type across each sample. The dose responses had cell type specific effects, including differences in drug response between CD11b+ blasts, CD11b- blasts, and other non-blast populations. Integrating with the DNA-Seq and RNA-Seq data, known associations between ex vivo drug response and gene expression were identified with additional cell type specificity. For example, BCL2A1 expression was negatively correlated with venetoclax sensitivity in CD11b- blasts but not in CD11b+ blasts. To further corroborate, among the top 1000 genes associated with venetoclax sensitivity in BeatAML, 93.7% had concordant directionality in effect. Conclusions: Here we describe the development of an integrated ex vivo drug sensitivity assay and multi-omics dataset. The data demonstrated that ex vivo responses to compounds differ between cell types, highlighting the importance of measuring drug response in specific cell types. In addition, we demonstrated that integrating these data will provide unique insights on molecular mechanisms that affect cell type specific drug response. As we continue to expand the number of patient samples evaluated with our multi-dimensional platform, this dataset will provide insights for novel drug target discovery, biomarker development, and, in the future, informing treatment decisions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunxiang Wang ◽  
Xin Gao ◽  
Juntao Liu

Abstract Background Advances in single-cell RNA-seq technology have led to great opportunities for the quantitative characterization of cell types, and many clustering algorithms have been developed based on single-cell gene expression. However, we found that different data preprocessing methods show quite different effects on clustering algorithms. Moreover, there is no specific preprocessing method that is applicable to all clustering algorithms, and even for the same clustering algorithm, the best preprocessing method depends on the input data. Results We designed a graph-based algorithm, SC3-e, specifically for discriminating the best data preprocessing method for SC3, which is currently the most widely used clustering algorithm for single cell clustering. When tested on eight frequently used single-cell RNA-seq data sets, SC3-e always accurately selects the best data preprocessing method for SC3 and therefore greatly enhances the clustering performance of SC3. Conclusion The SC3-e algorithm is practically powerful for discriminating the best data preprocessing method, and therefore largely enhances the performance of cell-type clustering of SC3. It is expected to play a crucial role in the related studies of single-cell clustering, such as the studies of human complex diseases and discoveries of new cell types.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederique Murielle Ruf-Zamojski ◽  
Michel A Zamojski ◽  
German Nudelman ◽  
Yongchao Ge ◽  
Natalia Mendelev ◽  
...  

Abstract The pituitary gland is a critical regulator of the neuroendocrine system. To further our understanding of the classification, cellular heterogeneity, and regulatory landscape of pituitary cell types, we performed and computationally integrated single cell (SC)/single nucleus (SN) resolution experiments capturing RNA expression, chromatin accessibility, and DNA methylation state from mouse dissociated whole pituitaries. Both SC and SN transcriptome analysis and promoter accessibility identified the five classical hormone-producing cell types (somatotropes, gonadotropes (GT), lactotropes, thyrotropes, and corticotropes). GT cells distinctively expressed transcripts for Cga, Fshb, Lhb, Nr5a1, and Gnrhr in SC RNA-seq and SN RNA-seq. This was matched in SN ATAC-seq with GTs specifically showing open chromatin at the promoter regions for the same genes. Similarly, the other classically defined anterior pituitary cells displayed transcript expression and chromatin accessibility patterns characteristic of their own cell type. This integrated analysis identified additional cell-types, such as a stem cell cluster expressing transcripts for Sox2, Sox9, Mia, and Rbpms, and a broadly accessible chromatin state. In addition, we performed bulk ATAC-seq in the LβT2b gonadotrope-like cell line. While the FSHB promoter region was closed in the cell line, we identified a region upstream of Fshb that became accessible by the synergistic actions of GnRH and activin A, and that corresponded to a conserved region identified by a polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). Although this locus appears closed in deep sequencing bulk ATAC-seq of dissociated mouse pituitary cells, SN ATAC-seq of the same preparation showed that this site was specifically open in mouse GT, but closed in 14 other pituitary cell type clusters. This discrepancy highlighted the detection limit of a bulk ATAC-seq experiment in a subpopulation, as GT represented ~5% of this dissociated anterior pituitary sample. These results identified this locus as a candidate for explaining the dual dependence of Fshb expression on GnRH and activin/TGFβ signaling, and potential new evidence for upstream regulation of Fshb. The pituitary epigenetic landscape provides a resource for improved cell type identification and for the investigation of the regulatory mechanisms driving cell-to-cell heterogeneity. Additional authors not listed due to abstract submission restrictions: N. Seenarine, M. Amper, N. Jain (ISMMS).


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingnan Liang ◽  
Rachayata Dharmat ◽  
Leah Owen ◽  
Akbar Shakoor ◽  
Yumei Li ◽  
...  

AbstractSingle-cell RNA-seq is a powerful tool in decoding the heterogeneity in complex tissues by generating transcriptomic profiles of the individual cell. Here, we report a single-nuclei RNA-seq (snRNA-seq) transcriptomic study on human retinal tissue, which is composed of multiple cell types with distinct functions. Six samples from three healthy donors are profiled and high-quality RNA-seq data is obtained for 5873 single nuclei. All major retinal cell types are observed and marker genes for each cell type are identified. The gene expression of the macular and peripheral retina is compared to each other at cell-type level. Furthermore, our dataset shows an improved power for prioritizing genes associated with human retinal diseases compared to both mouse single-cell RNA-seq and human bulk RNA-seq results. In conclusion, we demonstrate that obtaining single cell transcriptomes from human frozen tissues can provide insight missed by either human bulk RNA-seq or animal models.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (10) ◽  
pp. 2326-2340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Li ◽  
Stefan Haug ◽  
Pascal Schlosser ◽  
Alexander Teumer ◽  
Adrienne Tin ◽  
...  

BackgroundGenetic variants identified in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are often not specific enough to reveal complex underlying physiology. By integrating RNA-seq data and GWAS summary statistics, novel computational methods allow unbiased identification of trait-relevant tissues and cell types.MethodsThe CKDGen consortium provided GWAS summary data for eGFR, urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR), BUN, and serum urate. Genotype-Tissue Expression Project (GTEx) RNA-seq data were used to construct the top 10% specifically expressed genes for each of 53 tissues followed by linkage disequilibrium (LD) score–based enrichment testing for each trait. Similar procedures were performed for five kidney single-cell RNA-seq datasets from humans and mice and for a microdissected tubule RNA-seq dataset from rat. Gene set enrichment analyses were also conducted for genes implicated in Mendelian kidney diseases.ResultsAcross 53 tissues, genes in kidney function–associated GWAS loci were enriched in kidney (P=9.1E-8 for eGFR; P=1.2E-5 for urate) and liver (P=6.8·10-5 for eGFR). In the kidney, proximal tubule was enriched in humans (P=8.5E-5 for eGFR; P=7.8E-6 for urate) and mice (P=0.0003 for eGFR; P=0.0002 for urate) and confirmed as the primary cell type in microdissected tubules and organoids. Gene set enrichment analysis supported this and showed enrichment of genes implicated in monogenic glomerular diseases in podocytes. A systematic approach generated a comprehensive list of GWAS genes prioritized by cell type–specific expression.ConclusionsIntegration of GWAS statistics of kidney function traits and gene expression data identified relevant tissues and cell types, as a basis for further mechanistic studies to understand GWAS loci.


eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dylan Kotliar ◽  
Adrian Veres ◽  
M Aurel Nagy ◽  
Shervin Tabrizi ◽  
Eran Hodis ◽  
...  

Identifying gene expression programs underlying both cell-type identity and cellular activities (e.g. life-cycle processes, responses to environmental cues) is crucial for understanding the organization of cells and tissues. Although single-cell RNA-Seq (scRNA-Seq) can quantify transcripts in individual cells, each cell’s expression profile may be a mixture of both types of programs, making them difficult to disentangle. Here, we benchmark and enhance the use of matrix factorization to solve this problem. We show with simulations that a method we call consensus non-negative matrix factorization (cNMF) accurately infers identity and activity programs, including their relative contributions in each cell. To illustrate the insights this approach enables, we apply it to published brain organoid and visual cortex scRNA-Seq datasets; cNMF refines cell types and identifies both expected (e.g. cell cycle and hypoxia) and novel activity programs, including programs that may underlie a neurosecretory phenotype and synaptogenesis.


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