Single-Cell Transcriptional Profiling Reveals Cellular Diversity and Intercommunication in the Mouse Heart

Daniel A. Skelly, Galen T. Squiers, Micheal A. McLellan, Mohan T. Bolisetty, Paul Robson, Nadia A. Rosenthal, Alexander R. Pinto

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

380 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Characterization of the cardiac cellulome, the network of cells that form the heart, is essential for understanding cardiac development and normal organ function and for formulating precise therapeutic strategies to combat heart disease. Recent studies have reshaped our understanding of cardiac cellular composition and highlighted important functional roles for non-myocyte cell types. In this study, we characterized single-cell transcriptional profiles of the murine non-myocyte cardiac cellular landscape using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). Detailed molecular analyses revealed the diversity of the cardiac cellulome and facilitated the development of techniques to isolate understudied cardiac cell populations, such as mural cells and glia. Our analyses also revealed extensive networks of intercellular communication and suggested prevalent sexual dimorphism in gene expression in the heart. This study offers insights into the structure and function of the mammalian cardiac cellulome and provides an important resource that will stimulate studies in cardiac cell biology. Skelly et al. carry out comprehensive gene expression profiling of non-myocyte cells of the mouse heart. These data allow detection of a diverse and complex ensemble of cells characterized by specific gene expression signatures. They present an analysis of cell type markers, heterogeneity within cell types, and communication between cell types.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)600-610
Number of pages11
JournalCell Reports
Volume22
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16 Jan 2018

Keywords

  • 10X
  • cardiac non-myocyte
  • cell type markers
  • cell-cell communication
  • cellulome
  • heart
  • mouse
  • sexual dimorphism
  • single cell RNA-seq

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