1. Single-cell analysis uncovers convergence of cell identities during axolotl limb regeneration.
- Author
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Gerber T, Murawala P, Knapp D, Masselink W, Schuez M, Hermann S, Gac-Santel M, Nowoshilow S, Kageyama J, Khattak S, Currie JD, Camp JG, Tanaka EM, and Treutlein B
- Subjects
- Ambystoma mexicanum, Animals, Cell Lineage, Cell Tracking, Genes, Reporter, Integrases, RNA, Messenger genetics, Sequence Analysis, RNA methods, Single-Cell Analysis, Stem Cells physiology, Cellular Reprogramming physiology, Connective Tissue Cells physiology, Forelimb physiology, Regeneration physiology
- Abstract
Amputation of the axolotl forelimb results in the formation of a blastema, a transient tissue where progenitor cells accumulate prior to limb regeneration. However, the molecular understanding of blastema formation had previously been hampered by the inability to identify and isolate blastema precursor cells in the adult tissue. We have used a combination of Cre-loxP reporter lineage tracking and single-cell messenger RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to molecularly track mature connective tissue (CT) cell heterogeneity and its transition to a limb blastema state. We have uncovered a multiphasic molecular program where CT cell types found in the uninjured adult limb revert to a relatively homogenous progenitor state that recapitulates an embryonic limb bud-like phenotype including multipotency within the CT lineage. Together, our data illuminate molecular and cellular reprogramming during complex organ regeneration in a vertebrate., (Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.)
- Published
- 2018
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