Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis of the Hematopoietic System between Human and Mouse by Single Cell RNA Sequencing

(1) Background: mouse models are fundamental to the study of hematopoiesis, but comparisons between mouse and human in single cells have been limited in depth. (2) Methods: we constructed a single-cell resolution transcriptomic atlas of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) of human and mo...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shouguo Gao, Zhijie Wu, Jeerthi Kannan, Liza Mathews, Xingmin Feng, Sachiko Kajigaya, Neal S. Young
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
Series:Cells
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/10/5/973
Description
Summary:(1) Background: mouse models are fundamental to the study of hematopoiesis, but comparisons between mouse and human in single cells have been limited in depth. (2) Methods: we constructed a single-cell resolution transcriptomic atlas of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) of human and mouse, from a total of 32,805 single cells. We used Monocle to examine the trajectories of hematopoietic differentiation, and SCENIC to analyze gene networks underlying hematopoiesis. (3) Results: After alignment with Seurat 2, the cells of mouse and human could be separated by same cell type categories. Cells were grouped into 17 subpopulations; cluster-specific genes were species-conserved and shared functional themes. The clustering dendrogram indicated that cell types were highly conserved between human and mouse. A visualization of the Monocle results provided an intuitive representation of HSPC differentiation to three dominant branches (Erythroid/megakaryocytic, Myeloid, and Lymphoid), derived directly from the hematopoietic stem cell and the long-term hematopoietic stem cells in both human and mouse. Gene regulation was similarly conserved, reflected by comparable transcriptional factors and regulatory sequence motifs in subpopulations of cells. (4) Conclusions: our analysis has confirmed evolutionary conservation in the hematopoietic systems of mouse and human, extending to cell types, gene expression and regulatory elements.
ISSN:2073-4409