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Updated: Jul 15, 2025
Multiplexed Single Cell mRNA Sequencing Analysis of Mouse Embryonic Cells
Published on: January 7, 2020
Single-Cell Transcriptomics Reveals Cellular Heterogeneity and Complex Cell-Cell Communication Networks in the Mouse
Yueh-Feng Wu1, Nai-Wen Chang2, Li-An Chu3,4
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Medicine and College of Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Purpose:
To generate a single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) map and construct cell-cell communication networks of mouse corneas.
Methods:
C57BL/6 mouse corneas were dissociated to single cells and subjected to scRNA-seq. Cell populations were clustered and annotated for bioinformatic analysis using the R package "Seurat." Differential expression patterns were validated and spatially mapped with whole-mount immunofluorescence staining. Global intercellular signaling networks were constructed using CellChat.
Results:
Unbiased clustering of scRNA-seq transcriptomes of 14,732 cells from 40 corneas revealed 17 cell clusters of six major cell types: nine epithelial cell, three keratocyte, two corneal endothelial cell, and one each of immune cell, vascular endothelial cell, and fibroblast clusters. The nine epithelial cell subtypes included quiescent limbal stem cells, transit-amplifying cells, and differentiated cells from corneas and two minor conjunctival epithelial clusters. CellChat analysis provided an atlas of the complex intercellular signaling communications among all cell types.
Conclusions:
We constructed a complete single-cell transcriptomic map and the complex signaling cross-talk among all cell types of the cornea, which can be used as a foundation atlas for further research on the cornea. This study also deepens the understanding of the cellular heterogeneity and heterotypic cell-cell interaction within corneas.
