Open chromatin and single-cell sequencing analysis reveals the contribution of Wnt4-lineage cells and the importance of chromatin regulators in renal tubular and interstitial differentiation
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ABSTRACT: Although Wnt4 is an early marker of nephron differentiation, how Wnt4-lineage cells differentiate into the renal interstitium and other cells types is unclear. Cell fate, proliferation, migration, and differentiation are controlled by precise spatiotemporal gene expression programs that are coordinately regulated by cell-cycle, lineage-specific transcription and chromatin regulatory factors. However, little is known about the roles of epigenetic/chromatin regulators in renal tubular and interstitial differentiation and diseases. We deleted the chromatin regulator Brg1 in Wnt4-expressing cells and FACS-purified Wnt4-lineage cells of wild-type and Brg1-deficient kidneys. We then carried out assay for transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing (ATAC-seq) to determine how Brg1-deficiency alters chromatin accessibility. We further performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to define the population and the effects of Brg1-deficiency in the differentiation of Wnt4-lineage cells. Our ATAC-seq analysis shows that Brg1-deficiency alters accessibility at thousands of active enhancers harboring motifs for an array of transcription factors. Unbiased scRNA-seq analyses identify 35 clusters of Wnt4-descendant cells and uncover novel cell types and genes that have so far not been linked to Wnt4-lineage cells. Brg1-deficiency leads to increased endothelial, stromal, and smooth-muscle cells and decreased nephron tubular cells. In Brg1-deficient kidneys, the expression of Pttg1 and proliferation are increased in Wnt4-expressing precursors, which cannot transition to a characteristic tubular state and appear to undergo fibrosis. Our results provide crucial insight into chromatin remodeling events and Wnt4-lineage cell-associated gene expression dynamics, highlighting the importance of chromatin regulators in controlling the differentiation of these cells and the expression of disease-associated genes.
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE199188 | GEO | 2022/04/08
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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