Project description:Single-cell RNA datasets for aortic tissue from 8-week-old inducible smooth muscle cell-specific knock-in of Acta2 R179C mutation vs. littermate controls and aortic aneurysm tissue from a human patient carrying an ACTA2 R179H variant vs. a pediatric organ donor healthy control.
Project description:Explanted aortic SMCs from transgenic,Acta2-R179C/+ mice and littermate controls were cultured and subjected to assay for transposase accessible chromatin by sequencing (ATAC-seq) to determine how the R179C variant influences chromatin accessibility.
Project description:Smooth muscle cells exist in many different locations within the body, including blood vessels and airways. The heterogeneity of smooth muscle cells has been related to their embryological origins and could have implications in many diseases, including atherosclerosis, pulmonary hypertension, and asthma. Here we aimed to study the heterogeneity of Acta2+ cells in the mouse lung and to identify specific markers for Acta2+ sub-populations. We used a mouse line containing an Acta2hrGFP/Cspg4dsRed reporter and performed single cell RNA sequencing of Acta2+ cells isolated from adult mouse lungs. We identified 3 main distinct clusters, corresponding to airway smooth muscle (ASM), vascular smooth muscle (VSM) and mesenchymal alveolar niche cells (MANCs), and extracted specific gene signatures for each of these cell types. Our dataset and gene signatures help address the heterogeneity of Acta2+ lineages in the lung and will be of use for future studies focusing on smooth muscle cells in the lung and in other organs.
Project description:We have applied single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) as an unbiased transcriptomics to characterize aortic immune cells in atherosclerosis. The scRNA-seq analysis revealed macrophage heterogeneity at the single-cell level in mouse atherosclerotic aorta.
Project description:In atherosclerosis, several immune cells are involved in plaque formation. Foam cell formation is a major cellular process in atherosclerotic lesion. It is important to understand which cells participate in foam cell formation. To characterize the immune cells and foam cells in atherosclerotic aorta, we performed single cell RNA sequencing of aortic CD45+ leukocytes from Ldlr-/- mice and foamy cells from ApoE-/- mice. The single cell RNA-seq analyses revealed the heterogeneity of aortic macrophages and foam cells in atherosclerotic aorta.