Mesenchymal cells play a crucial role in both tissue development and regeneration. During embryonic and fetal stages, besides directly giving rise the body’s connective tissues, the mesenchyme also regulates organ formation by secreting signalling factors controlling, among others, proliferation, differentiation, positioning and branching. Although the importance of mesenchymal cells during development is known, the level of mesenchymal cells heterogeneity within and between organs has not been fully characterised. scRNA-seq allows to identify cell populations in a heterogenous system (e.g., fetal tissues) and to assess distribution of gene expression. Therefore, it can be used to discovering rare cell types and their markers, to identify differential cell composition between different conditions/tissues and to understand cells' relationship during development. Here I analysed four scRNA-seq datasets encompassing four fetal tissues (kidney, intestine, skeletal muscle and lung). For each dataset, I performed clustering to identify the main cellular compartments and to isolate the stromal fraction. Then, integration of mesenchymal cells from each dataset allowed me to identify both tissues-specific and conserved populations, to characterize them and to identify putative new markers.
Transcriptomic profiling of mesenchymal cells in fetal tissues
D'ARIANO, GIORGIA
2021/2022
Abstract
Mesenchymal cells play a crucial role in both tissue development and regeneration. During embryonic and fetal stages, besides directly giving rise the body’s connective tissues, the mesenchyme also regulates organ formation by secreting signalling factors controlling, among others, proliferation, differentiation, positioning and branching. Although the importance of mesenchymal cells during development is known, the level of mesenchymal cells heterogeneity within and between organs has not been fully characterised. scRNA-seq allows to identify cell populations in a heterogenous system (e.g., fetal tissues) and to assess distribution of gene expression. Therefore, it can be used to discovering rare cell types and their markers, to identify differential cell composition between different conditions/tissues and to understand cells' relationship during development. Here I analysed four scRNA-seq datasets encompassing four fetal tissues (kidney, intestine, skeletal muscle and lung). For each dataset, I performed clustering to identify the main cellular compartments and to isolate the stromal fraction. Then, integration of mesenchymal cells from each dataset allowed me to identify both tissues-specific and conserved populations, to characterize them and to identify putative new markers.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12608/33071