| Description |
Mesenchymal Stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types with a promising application for tissue repair. However, MSCs cultured in vitro exhibit functional heterogeneity. The underlying molecular mechanisms that define MSC heterogeneity remain unclear. Mesenchymal stem cells can be derived from multiple tissue types, among them, the umbilical cord (Wharton's jelly) is proven to be a promising resource for MSC. Here, we investigated gene-expression heterogeneity of human primary Wharton's Jelly-derived MSCs (WJMSCs) cultured in vitro via single-cell RNA-seq. At the single-cell level, three cell subpopulations were identified as progenitor cells for three MSC lineages. Comparing the single-cell transcriptome profiles of primary and induced MSCs in three mesenchymal lineages (osteogenesis, chondrogenesis, and adipogenesis), we identified some genes and TFs that might be essential to maintain stem cell multipotency as well as to drive lineage-specific commitment. Integrating our WJMSC single-cell data with three MSC single-cell transcriptomic data from other tissue types, we found the overall similarity of cell-type composition, but identified differences in functional characteristics, with "immunosuppression" and "stemness" related genes highly upregulated in WJMSC compared with other tissue types. Taken together, our results revealed the transcriptomic heterogeneity of MSC from various tissue types and identified a subpopulation of MSCs as well as genes with promising potential in tissue regeneration as well as immunomodulation. |
