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Updated: Feb 20, 2026
Single-cell Transcriptomic Analyses of Mouse Pancreatic Endocrine Cells
Published on: September 30, 2018
Laser Capture and Deep Sequencing Reveals the Transcriptomic Programmes Regulating the Onset of Pancreas and Liver
Rachel E Jennings1, Andrew A Berry2, David T Gerrard3
1Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology & Gastroenterology, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, AV Hill Building, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK; Endocrinology Department, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Grafton Street, Manchester M13 9WU, UK.
Abstract:
To interrogate the alternative fates of pancreas and liver in the earliest stages of human organogenesis, we developed laser capture, RNA amplification, and computational analysis of deep sequencing. Pancreas-enriched gene expression was less conserved between human and mouse than for liver. The dorsal pancreatic bud was enriched for components of Notch, Wnt, BMP, and FGF signaling, almost all genes known to cause pancreatic agenesis or hypoplasia, and over 30 unexplored transcription factors. SOX9 and RORA were imputed as key regulators in pancreas compared with EP300, HNF4A, and FOXA family members in liver. Analyses implied that current in vitro human stem cell differentiation follows a dorsal rather than a ventral pancreatic program and pointed to additional factors for hepatic differentiation. In summary, we provide the transcriptional codes regulating the start of human liver and pancreas development to facilitate stem cell research and clinical interpretation without inter-species extrapolation.
