Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (SJTUSM) & CAS Key Laboratory of Tissue Microenvironment and Tumor, Shanghai, 200031, China.
Chapman University, Irvine, CA, 92618, USA.
Sci China Life Sci. 2021 Jul;64(7):1077-1086. doi: 10.1007/s11427-020-1823-2. Epub 2020 Nov 3.
Mural cells (MCs) wrap around the endothelium, and participate in the development and homeostasis of vasculature. MCs have been reported as heterogeneous population morphologically and functionally. However, the transcriptional heterogeneity of MCs was rarely studied. In this study, we illustrated the transcriptional heterogeneity of MCs with different perspectives by using publicly available single-cell dataset GSE109774. Specifically, MCs are transcriptionally different from other cell types, and ligand-receptor interactions of different cells with MCs vary. Re-clustering of MCs identified five distinct subclusters. The heterogeneity of MCs in tissues was reflected by MC coverage, various distribution of MC subclusters, and ligand-receptor interactions of MCs and parenchymal cells. The transcriptomic diversity of MCs revealed in this article will help facilitate further research into MCs.
壁细胞（MCs）包裹在内皮细胞周围，并参与血管系统的发育和稳态。MCs 在形态和功能上被报道为异质性群体。然而，MCs 的转录异质性很少被研究。在这项研究中，我们通过使用公开的单细胞数据集 GSE109774 从不同的角度说明了 MCs 的转录异质性。具体来说，MCs 在转录上与其他细胞类型不同，并且不同细胞与 MCs 的配体-受体相互作用也不同。MCs 的重新聚类确定了五个不同的亚群。MCs 在组织中的异质性反映在 MC 覆盖率、MC 亚群的各种分布以及 MC 和实质细胞的配体-受体相互作用上。本文中揭示的 MCs 的转录组多样性将有助于促进对 MCs 的进一步研究。
