Dataset Information

Aged Differentiated Cells Reverse into Native Stemness-Like State by Niche Cytokines to Sustain Lifelong Homeostasis and Tissue Repair

ABSTRACT: To study the molecular mechanisms driving dedifferentiation and stem cell plasticity during tissue regeneration, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing at multiple time points-Day 2, Day 5, Day 10, and Day 40,following complete ablation of the limbal stem cell (LSC) population. The primary goal was to characterize the transcriptional reprogramming processes that enable differentiated epithelial cells to reacquire stem cell-like properties and restore the LSC pool. Specifically, we aimed to determine (1) the extent to which dedifferentiated cells recapture native stem cell phenotypes, (2) whether this plasticity is maintained in late differentiated and aged cells, and (3) the niche signals that regulate this process. Our data reveal that differentiated cells undergo extensive transcriptional remodeling, becoming virtually indistinguishable from native LSCs, and functionally sustain long-term tissue homeostasis and repair after repeated injury. Remarkably, this plasticity is retained even in late differentiated and aged cells. Mechanistically, we identify macrophage-derived cytokines as key niche factors promoting dedifferentiation and stemness reacquisition. This dataset provides a comprehensive transcriptional resource of corneal regeneration, offering insights into stem cell plasticity and immune-niche interactions with implications for regenerative medicine and limbal stem cell deficiency therapies.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE303805 | GEO | 2026/03/12

REPOSITORIES: GEO

ACCESS DATA

Dataset's files

Source:

			Action	DRS
		Other

Items per page:

1 - 1 of 1

Similar Datasets

Project description:Limbal stem cells including epithelial and stromal/Mesenchymal stem cells that contribute to sustained corneal homeostasis, maintain their ability to act as self-renewal progenitor cells by virtue of their limbal niche and intercellular communication. Extracellular vehicles (EVs), including exosomes (Exos), are important paracrine mediators through their cargo transfer for intercellular communication in various stem cell niches. Previously we have shown the differential cargos and regulatory roles of limbal stromal cell (LSC)-derived Exos, in limbal epithelial cells (LEC) in normal (N) and diabetic (DM) limbal niche. In the present study, to have a comprehensive knowledge of reciprocal LEC-LSC crosstalk, we investigated the proteomics and miRNA profile of exosomes derived from LEC and their regulatory roles in LSC in N and DM limbus. Our study showed wound healing and proliferation rates in primary N-LSC were significantly enhanced upon treatment by normal LEC-derived Exos (N-Exos), but not by diabetic Exos (DM-Exos). Further, N-Exos treated LSC showed downregulation of keratocyte markers, ALDH3A1 and lumican, but not keratocan, and upregulation of MSC markers, CD105, CD90, and CD73 compared to the DM-Exos treated LSC. Using next generation sequencing (NGS) and proteomics analysis, we revealed some miRNAs and proteins in the Exos that affect the cellular crosstalk and the function of the cornea. We also documented differences in DM vs. normal LEC-derived Exo’s cargos. Overall, DM-Exos have less effect on LSC proliferation, wound healing, and stem cell maintenance than N-Exos, likely by transferring their cargo proteins and/or regulatory miRNAs targeting cell cycle, ERK/MAPK, TGF-β, EMT, PI3K-Akt-mTOR signaling molecules. This suggests that the small RNA and protein cargo differences in DM vs. N LEC-derived Exos could contribute to the disease state. Our study revealed a complex contribution of Exos to health and diabetic state of corneal homeostasis and suggests the potential of EV therapeutics for diabetic cornea regenerative medicine

Project description:Limbal stem cells (LSCs), known as corneal epithelial stem cells, are located at the basal epithelial layer of the corneal limbus and serve an important function in maintaining the homeostasis of the corneal epithelium. Several putative molecular markers of LSCs have been previously identified. However, the specificity of these markers remains largely controversial. To address this gap in the current understanding of LSCs, we performed a transcriptome profiling of heterogeneous corneal limbal basal cells using single-cell transcriptomics technology to identify LSCs and their exclusive markers. We isolated limbal basal cells from two young donors, constructed scRNA-seq libraries, generated RNA-sequencing data using the 10x Genomics platform, and then finally obtained the transcriptome of about 18,000 individual single-cells using Cell ranger (https://10xgenomics.com). Next, we performed quality control, filtering and data integration using Seurat package (https://satijalab.org/seurat), about 16,400 cells were retained for further downstream analysis such as dimensional reduction, unsupervised clustering, and Differentially expressed gene selection, trajectory analysis and visualization. We identified 11 unique clusters of cells assigned to a putative cell type based on published known biomarkers for differentiation, proliferation and putative epithelial stem cells. As a results, we found 2 Terminally Differentiated Cell (TDC), 3 Post-Mitotic Cell (PMC), 1 Transient Amplifying Cell (TAC), 2 Limbal Progenitor Cell (LPC), Putative Limbal Stem Cell (LSC) and 2 Melanocyte (MC) sub-cell type clusters. Furthermore, we confirmed the trajectory order of LSC differentiation for 9 clusters using Pseudotemporal and Functional PCA analysis. Lastly, we validated each assigned cell subtypes and determined their location in human corneal limbus tissue with 9 markers using RNAscope We were able to reveal the heterogeneity of corneal limbal basal epithelium by defining novel dynamic trajectories for cell types in a pseudotemporal manner. This approach allowed us to identify the distinct clusters of LSCs and progenitors with exclusively expressed markers, and might apply for translational research on regenerating a normal corneal epithelium and restoring vision.

Dataset Information

Aged Differentiated Cells Reverse into Native Stemness-Like State by Niche Cytokines to Sustain Lifelong Homeostasis and Tissue Repair

Dataset's files

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets