Single-Cell Transcriptome Analysis as a Promising Tool to Study Pluripotent Stem Cell Reprogramming

Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Jun 1;22(11):5988. doi: 10.3390/ijms22115988.

Abstract

Cells are the basic units of all organisms and are involved in all vital activities, such as proliferation, differentiation, senescence, and apoptosis. A human body consists of more than 30 trillion cells generated through repeated division and differentiation from a single-cell fertilized egg in a highly organized programmatic fashion. Since the recent formation of the Human Cell Atlas consortium, establishing the Human Cell Atlas at the single-cell level has been an ongoing activity with the goal of understanding the mechanisms underlying diseases and vital cellular activities at the level of the single cell. In particular, transcriptome analysis of embryonic stem cells at the single-cell level is of great importance, as these cells are responsible for determining cell fate. Here, we review single-cell analysis techniques that have been actively used in recent years, introduce the single-cell analysis studies currently in progress in pluripotent stem cells and reprogramming, and forecast future studies.

Keywords: heterogeneity; induced pluripotent stem cell; pluripotent stem cell; single-cell mRNA sequencing; somatic cell reprogramming.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Cell Differentiation / genetics
  • Cell Proliferation / genetics*
  • Cellular Reprogramming / genetics*
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / genetics
  • Humans
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / cytology
  • Pluripotent Stem Cells / cytology
  • Pluripotent Stem Cells / metabolism*
  • Single-Cell Analysis
  • Transcriptome / genetics*