A single-cell RNA-seq analysis unravels the heterogeneity of primary cultured human corneal endothelial cells
Abstract The cornea is a transparent and avascular tissue located in front of the eye. Its inner surface is lined by a monolayer of corneal endothelial cells (CECs), which maintain the cornea transparency. CECs remain arrested in a non-proliferative state and damage to these cells can compromise the...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-36567-6 |
| _version_ | 1797806785337229312 |
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| author | Pere Català Nathalie Groen Vanessa L. S. LaPointe Mor M. Dickman |
| author_facet | Pere Català Nathalie Groen Vanessa L. S. LaPointe Mor M. Dickman |
| author_sort | Pere Català |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The cornea is a transparent and avascular tissue located in front of the eye. Its inner surface is lined by a monolayer of corneal endothelial cells (CECs), which maintain the cornea transparency. CECs remain arrested in a non-proliferative state and damage to these cells can compromise their function leading to corneal opacity. The primary culture of donor-derived CECs is a promising cell therapy. It confers the potential to treat multiple patients from a single donor, alleviating the global donor shortage. Nevertheless, this approach has limitations preventing its adoption, particularly culture protocols allow limited expansion of CECs and there is a lack of clear parameters to identify therapy-grade CECs. To address this limitation, a better understanding of the molecular changes arising from the primary culture of CECs is required. Using single-cell RNA sequencing on primary cultured CECs, we identify their variable transcriptomic fingerprint at the single cell level, provide a pseudo-temporal reconstruction of the changes arising from primary culture, and suggest markers to assess the quality of primary CEC cultures. This research depicts a deep transcriptomic understanding of the cellular heterogeneity arising from the primary expansion of CECs and sets the basis for further improvement of culture protocols and therapies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T06:12:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7d23c9ec64894a5bb1ab34df06e10ad6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T06:12:37Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-7d23c9ec64894a5bb1ab34df06e10ad62023-06-11T11:11:18ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-06-0113111410.1038/s41598-023-36567-6A single-cell RNA-seq analysis unravels the heterogeneity of primary cultured human corneal endothelial cellsPere Català0Nathalie Groen1Vanessa L. S. LaPointe2Mor M. Dickman3Department of Cell Biology–Inspired Tissue Engineering, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative MedicineSingle Cell DiscoveriesDepartment of Cell Biology–Inspired Tissue Engineering, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative MedicineDepartment of Cell Biology–Inspired Tissue Engineering, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative MedicineAbstract The cornea is a transparent and avascular tissue located in front of the eye. Its inner surface is lined by a monolayer of corneal endothelial cells (CECs), which maintain the cornea transparency. CECs remain arrested in a non-proliferative state and damage to these cells can compromise their function leading to corneal opacity. The primary culture of donor-derived CECs is a promising cell therapy. It confers the potential to treat multiple patients from a single donor, alleviating the global donor shortage. Nevertheless, this approach has limitations preventing its adoption, particularly culture protocols allow limited expansion of CECs and there is a lack of clear parameters to identify therapy-grade CECs. To address this limitation, a better understanding of the molecular changes arising from the primary culture of CECs is required. Using single-cell RNA sequencing on primary cultured CECs, we identify their variable transcriptomic fingerprint at the single cell level, provide a pseudo-temporal reconstruction of the changes arising from primary culture, and suggest markers to assess the quality of primary CEC cultures. This research depicts a deep transcriptomic understanding of the cellular heterogeneity arising from the primary expansion of CECs and sets the basis for further improvement of culture protocols and therapies.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-36567-6 |
| spellingShingle | Pere Català Nathalie Groen Vanessa L. S. LaPointe Mor M. Dickman A single-cell RNA-seq analysis unravels the heterogeneity of primary cultured human corneal endothelial cells Scientific Reports |
| title | A single-cell RNA-seq analysis unravels the heterogeneity of primary cultured human corneal endothelial cells |
| title_full | A single-cell RNA-seq analysis unravels the heterogeneity of primary cultured human corneal endothelial cells |
| title_fullStr | A single-cell RNA-seq analysis unravels the heterogeneity of primary cultured human corneal endothelial cells |
| title_full_unstemmed | A single-cell RNA-seq analysis unravels the heterogeneity of primary cultured human corneal endothelial cells |
| title_short | A single-cell RNA-seq analysis unravels the heterogeneity of primary cultured human corneal endothelial cells |
| title_sort | single cell rna seq analysis unravels the heterogeneity of primary cultured human corneal endothelial cells |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-36567-6 |
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