Project description:Microfluidic deterministic barcoding of mRNAs and proteins in tissue slides followed by high throughput sequencing enables the construction of high-spatial-resolution multi-omics atlas at the genome scale. Applying it to mouse embryo tissues revealed major tissue (sub)types in early-stage organogenesis, brain micro-vasculatures, and the fine structure of an optical vesicle at the single-cell-layer resolution.
Project description:Multiple distinct cell types of the human lung and airways have been defined by single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq). Here we present a multi-omics spatial lung atlas to define novel cell types which we map back into the macro- and micro-anatomical tissue context to define functional tissue microenvironments. Firstly, we have generated single cell and nuclei RNA sequencing, VDJ-sequencing and Visium Spatial Transcriptomics data sets from 5 different locations of the human lung and airways. Secondly, we define additional cell types/states, as well as spatially map novel and known human airway cell types, such as adult lung chondrocytes, submucosal gland (SMG) duct cells, distinct pericyte and smooth muscle subtypes, immune-recruiting fibroblasts, peribronchial and perichondrial fibroblasts, peripheral nerve associated fibroblasts and Schwann cells. Finally, we define a survival niche for IgA-secreting plasma cells at the SMG, comprising the newly defined epithelial SMG-Duct cells, and B and T lineage immune cells. Using our transcriptomic data for cell-cell interaction analysis, we propose a signalling circuit that establishes and supports this niche. Overall, we provide a transcriptional and spatial lung atlas with multiple novel cell types that allows for the study of specific tissue microenvironments such as the newly defined gland-associated lymphoid niche (GALN).
Project description:Asynchronous skeletal muscle degeneration/regeneration is a hallmark feature of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD); however, traditional -omics technologies that lack spatial context make it difficult to study the biological mechanisms of how asynchronous regeneration contributes to disease progression. Here, using the severely dystrophic D2-mdx mouse model, we generated a high-resolution cellular and molecular spatial atlas of dystrophic muscle by integrating spatial transcriptomics and single-cell RNAseq datasets.
Project description:Cell types in the human retina are highly heterogeneous with their abundance varies by several orders of magnitude. To decipher the complexity of gene expression and regulation of the human retinal cell types, we generated a multi-omics single-cell atlas of the adult human retina, including over 250K nuclei for single-nuclei RNA-seq and 150K nuclei for single-nuclei ATAC-seq. Over 60 cell subtypes have been identified based on their transcriptomic profiles, reaching a sensitivity of 0.01%. Integrative analysis of this single-cell multi-omics dataset identified gene regulatory elements across the genome for each cell subtype. In addition, when combined with other data modalities, such as eQTL, potential causal variants can be identified through fine mapping. Taken together, this new dataset represents the most comprehensive single-cell multi-omics profiling for the human retina that enables in-depth molecular characterization of most cell subtypes.
Project description:The mammalian brain consists of millions to billions of cells that are organized into numerous cell types with specific spatial distribution patterns and structural and functional properties. An essential step towards understanding brain function is to obtain a parts list, i.e., a catalog of cell types, of the brain. Here, we report a comprehensive and high-resolution transcriptomic and spatial cell type atlas for the whole adult mouse brain. The cell type atlas was created based on the combination of two single-cell-level, whole-brain-scale datasets: a single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) dataset of ~7 million cells profiled (~4.0 million cells passing quality control), and a spatially resolved transcriptomic dataset of ~4.3 million cells using MERFISH. The atlas is hierarchically organized into four nested levels of classification: 34 classes, 338 subclasses, 1,201 supertypes and 5,322 clusters. We present a newly developed online platform, Allen Brain Cell (ABC) Atlas, to visualize the mouse whole brain cell type taxonomy and atlas along with the scRNA-seq and MERFISH data and metadata sets. We systematically analyzed the neuronal, non-neuronal, and immature neuronal cell types across the brain and identified a high degree of correspondence between transcriptomic identity and spatial specificity for each cell type. The results reveal unique features of cell type organization in different brain regions, in particular, a dichotomy between the dorsal and ventral parts of the brain: the dorsal part contains relatively fewer yet highly divergent neuronal types, whereas the ventral part contains more numerous neuronal types that are more closely related to each other. We also systematically characterized cell-type specific expression of neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, and transcription factors. The study uncovered extraordinary diversity and heterogeneity in neurotransmitter and neuropeptide expression and co-expression patterns in different cell types across the brain, suggesting they mediate myriad modes of intercellular communications. Finally, we found that transcription factors are major determinants of cell type classification in the adult mouse brain and identified a combinatorial transcription factor code that defines cell types across all parts of the brain. The whole-mouse-brain transcriptomic and spatial cell type atlas establishes a benchmark reference atlas and a foundational resource for deep and integrative investigations of cellular and circuit function, development, and evolution of the mammalian brain.
Project description:Plant leaf intercellular space provides a nutrient-rich and heterogeneous niche for microbes that have a critical impact on plant health. However, how individual plant cells respond to heterogeneous microbial colonization remains largely elusive. Here, by time-resolved simultaneous single-cell transcriptome and epigenome profiling of plants (Arabidopsis thaliana) infected by virulent and avirulent bacterial pathogens (Pseudomonas syringae), we present an atlas of gene regulatory logic involving transcription factors, potential cis-regulatory elements, and target genes associated with disease and immunity. We also identify previously uncharacterized cell populations with distinct immune gene expression within major developmental cell types. Furthermore, we employ time-resolved spatial transcriptomics to reveal spatial heterogeneity of plant immune responses linked to pathogen distribution. Integration of our single-cell multiomics and spatial omics data enables spatiotemporal mapping of defense gene regulatory logic. Overall, this study provides a molecularly-defined spatiotemporal map of plant-microbe interaction at the single-cell resolution.
Project description:In the skin, tissue injury results in fibrosis in the form of scars composed of dense extracellular matrix deposited by fibroblasts. The therapeutic goal of regenerative wound healing has remained elusive in part because principles of fibroblast programming and adaptive response to injury remain incompletely understood. Here, we present a multimodal -omics platform for the comprehensive study of cell populations in complex tissue, which has allowed us to characterize the cells involved in wound healing across both time and space. We employ a stented wound model that recapitulates human tissue repair kinetics and multiple Rainbow transgenic lines to precisely track fibroblast fate during the physiologic response to injury. Through integrated analysis of single cell chromatin landscapes and gene expression states, coupled with spatial transcriptomic profiling, we are able to impute fibroblast epigenomes with temporospatial resolution. This has allowed us to define the mechanisms controlling cell fate during migration, proliferation, and differentiation following tissue injury and thereby reexamine the canonical phases of wound healing. We show that wounding triggers a polyclonal proliferation of tissue-resident, mechano-responsive fibroblasts, the subpopulations of which inhabit spatially-distinct regions within the wound and harbor distinct activities. These findings have broad implications for the study of tissue repair in complex organ systems.