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Single-cell gene expression analysis: implications for neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Technical and experimental advances in microaspiration techniques, RNA amplification, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and cDNA microarray analysis have led to an increase in the number of studies of single-cell gene expression. In particular, the central nervous system (CNS) is an ideal structure to apply single-cell gene expression paradigms. Unlike an organ that is composed of one principal cell type, the brain contains a constellation of neuronal and noneuronal populations of cells. A goal is to sample gene expression from similar cell types within a defined region without potential contamination by expression profiles of adjacent neuronal subpopulations and noneuronal cells. The unprecedented resolution afforded by single-cell RNA analysis in combination with cDNA microarrays and qPCR-based analyses allows for relative gene expression level comparisons across cell types under different experimental conditions and disease states. The ability to analyze single cells is an important distinction from global and regional assessments of mRNA expression and can be applied to optimally prepared tissues from animal models as well as postmortem human brain tissues. This focused review illustrates the potential power of single-cell gene expression studies within the CNS in relation to neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and schizophrenia, respectively.

Cell Physiological Phenomena↗

Molecular analysis of the immunoglobulin VH gene rearrangement in a primary cutaneous immunoblastic B-cell lymphoma by micromanipulation and single-cell PCR.

The immunoglobulin VH gene rearrangement in a primary cutaneous, large-cell (centroblastic and immunoblastic) B-cell lymphoma was analyzed using a micromanipulation/single-cell polymerase chain reaction technique. In all single B cells obtained from CD20-stained skin sections that gave a polymerase chain reaction product (eight of 27 in biopsy I), the same VHDJH rearrangement, consisting of DP-54-DIR1-JH3a genes, was detected, with no intraclonal nucleotide diversity. Comparison with the most closely related germline counterpart showed significantly altered complementarity determining gene regions as a result of somatic mutations, suggesting an antigen-driven selection and expansion ofthis particular B-cell clone. Interestingly, in a biopsy obtained from the patient 9 mo later, during disease progression (deep muscle infiltration), the lymphoma cells again contained the same VHDJH gene rearrangement (six of 18 in biopsy II) without any further somatic mutations. Therefore, it is suggested that the cutaneous lymphoma characterized throughout this study descended from postgerminal center B-cells.

Base Sequence↗

Manipulation of a single cell with microcapillary tubing based on its electrophoretic mobility.

Manipulation of a single cell of spherical shape, approximately 5-10 microns in diameter, was performed with capillary tubing and an electrostatic field. A single cell migrates with its electrophoretic mobility into capillary tubing against the flow of electroosmosis coming out of the capillary. After trapping the cell in the capillary, it is pulled out into the other microreservoir with the application of a reverse electric voltage. When we apply a negative voltage to the microreservoir itself, the cell in it can keep floating for a relatively long period due to electrostatic repulsion. The electrophoretic mobility of a single cell is also estimated.

Animals↗

Multiple genetic diagnoses from single cells using multiplex PCR: reliability and allele dropout.

We used a multiplex fluorescent PCR system containing seven primer sets on single cells from three different cell types (buccal, corneal and blastomere cells) and more than 3500 heterozygous alleles to investigate reliability and extent of allele dropout in multiplex PCRs at the single cell level. All three cell types gave similarly high reliability, accuracy and allele dropout rates, with similar reliability between singleplex and multiplex PCRs. Allele dropout was also consistent between the three cell types and did not significantly increase as allele size increased. These results indicate that multiplex fluorescent PCR is a reliable and accurate method of obtaining multiple diagnosis (eight chromosomes simultaneously) from single cells and maximizes the information available from single cell analysis.

Alleles↗

Integration of Genome-Wide Association Studies With Single-Cell and Bulk Expression Quantitative Trait Locus to Identify Stroke Susceptibility Genes.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have integrated genome-wide association studies with expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) data from bulk tissues to identify stroke susceptibility genes. However, eQTL data exhibit high cell-type specificity, and genetic variants may have distinct effects across stroke subtypes. METHODS: We applied the summary-data-based Mendelian randomization (MR) method to integrate eQTL data from 7 brain cell types with genome-wide association studies data for 5 stroke phenotypes (stroke, ischemic stroke, cardioembolic stroke, large artery stroke, and small vessel stroke). Results were compared with summary-data-based MR using eQTL data from 49 tissues in the Genotype-Tissue Expression project. Robustness of significant single-cell summary-data-based MR associations was assessed via MR and colocalization analyses. Further evaluations included single-cell RNA-seq differential expression, protein-protein interaction, druggability, and phenome-wide association studies. RESULTS: Single-cell summary-data-based MR identified many novel significant genes not detected using bulk tissue eQTL data. Validated associations revealed 2 stroke risk genes (LRCH1, ICA1L), 3 stroke protective genes (AHI1, LYRM9, CENPQ), 2 large artery stroke risk genes (LIPA, ELL), and 1 ischemic stroke protective gene (CENPQ). Single-cell RNA-seq showed significantly increased LIPA expression in mouse stroke samples compared with controls. Protein-protein interaction and druggability analyses, along with phenome-wide association studies, prioritized LIPA and LRCH1 as potential therapeutic targets for stroke while indicating possible adverse effects. CONCLUSIONS: Integrating single-cell eQTL with stroke-subtype genome-wide association studies uncovers novel cell-type-specific causal genes and highlights promising therapeutic targets, advancing understanding of stroke pathogenesis.

Genome-Wide Association Study↗

Preparation of single cells from aggregated Taxus suspension cultures for population analysis.

A method for the isolation of single plant cells from Taxus suspension cultures has been developed for the analysis of single cells via rapid throughput techniques such as flow cytometry. Several cell wall specific enzymes, such as pectinase, pectolyase Y-23, macerozyme, Driselase(R), and cellulase were tested for efficacy in producing single cell suspensions. The method was optimized for single cell yield, viability, time, and representivity of aggregated cell cultures. The best combination for single cell isolation was found to be 0.5% (w/v) pectolyase Y-23 and 0.04% (w/v) cellulase. High viability (>95%) and high yields of single cell aggregates (>90%) were obtained following 4 hours of digestion for four separate Taxus cell lines. In addition, methyl jasmonate elicitation (200 microM) was found to have no effect on three of the four tested Taxus lines. Isolated single cells were statistically similar to untreated cell cultures for peroxidase activity (model cell wall protein) and paclitaxel content (secondary metabolite produced in Taxus cell cultures). In comparison, protoplasts showed marked changes in both peroxidase activity and paclitaxel content as compared to untreated cultures. The use of flow cytometry was demonstrated with isolated cells that were found to have > 99% viability upon staining with fluorescein diacetate. The development of a method for the isolation of single plant cells will allow the study of population dynamics and culture variability on a single cell level for the development of population models of plant cell cultures and secondary metabolism.

Cell Aggregation↗

Real-time imaging of apoptotic cell-membrane changes at the single-cell level in the beating murine heart.

We report a novel real-time imaging model to visualize apoptotic membrane changes of single cardiomyocytes in the injured heart of the living mouse, using fluorescent labeled annexin-V. Annexin-V binds to externalized phosphatidylserine (PS) of cells undergoing programmed cell death. With high-magnification (x100-160) real-time imaging, we visualized the binding of annexin-V to single cardiomyocytes. Kinetic studies at the single-cell level revealed that cardiomyocytes started to bind annexin-V within minutes after reperfusion, following an ischemic period of 30 minutes. The amount of bound annexin-V increased rapidly and reached a maximum within 20-25 minutes. Caspase inhibitors decreased the number of annexin-V-positive cardiomyocytes and slowed down the rate of PS exposure of cardiomyocytes that still bound annexin-V. This technology to study cell biology in the natural environment will enhance knowledge of intracellular signaling pathways relevant for cell-death regulation and strategies to manipulate these pathways for therapeutic effect.

Animals↗

Genome-wide profiling of histone modifications and transcription factor binding at single-cell resolution by DeChIC-seq.

Mapping of protein-DNA interactions at single-cell resolution remains a central challenge in epigenomics, particularly for transcription factors (TFs), whose sparse binding limits reliable detection. Here, we establish DeChIC-seq (DNA Deaminase-based Chromatin Immuno-Conversion sequencing), a conversion-based strategy that uses a protein A-DddAtox fusion to directly record protein-DNA interactions by inducing localized C-to-U conversions near antibody-bound chromatin. Retaining genome-wide background sequence information without immunoprecipitation, DeChIC-seq enables profiling of histone modifications and sensitive detection of TF binding. Integration with single-cell whole-genome amplification extends DeChIC-seq to single-cell applications (scDeChIC-seq), enabling chromatin profiling of individual cells. Applied to mouse embryogenesis, scDeChIC-seq resolves lineage-specific chromatin states through profiling of H3K4me3, CTCF, and RAD21 and sensitively detects TF binding, including that of NR5A2, TFAP2C, and KLF5, from extremely limited blastomere inputs. This underscores its strong potential for detecting TF-binding sites in scarce biological samples. DeChIC-seq establishes a conversion-based framework for chromatin profiling that enables mechanistic dissection of TF-driven gene regulation across rare cells, developmental systems, and disease contexts.

Animals↗

An ultrastructural investigation of the 'microsclerotia' formed in single cells of root cortical cells associated with corky root rot of tomato.

White and Scott (1973) described two forms of microsclerotia associated with corky root rot of tomato, one being formed in single cells of the outer root cortical cells and the other produced in culture from isolation of diseased roots and in degenerated root debris. By assuming that both forms were of fungal origin, they conducted an ultrastructural study using the microsclerotia produced in culture but not those formed in single cells. They demonstrated that the microsclerotia from culture consisted of hardened, interwoven hyphae of the fungus, Pyrenochaeta lycopersici. Since there have been doubts about the nature of the microsclerotia formed in single cells, an ultrastructural study was conducted. The results demonstrated clearly that the 'microsclerotia' formed in single cells of the root cortical cells were not composed of fungal mycelia, indeed these blackened cells or 'microsclerotia' were filled with numerous crystallines. There was no evidence of the presence of fungal hyphae in or around these cells. Both diseased and healthy, and young and old root cortex cells of many cultivars of tomato contained cells filled with crystallines. Therefore, it is clear that the 'microsclerotia' formed in single cells of the outer cortex described by White and Scott are not microsclerotia of the fungus, P. lycopersici.

Fungi↗

Scattered micrometastases visualized at the single-cell level: detection and re-isolation of lacZ-labeled metastasized lymphoma cells.

To study metastasis at the single-cell level we transduced highly metastatic ESb lymphoma cells with a retroviral expression vector containing the lacZ (bacterial beta-galactosidase) gene. This allowed single ESb-lacZ tumor cells to be detected in infiltrated target organs by means of X-Gal staining. Despite expression of the lacZ gene, the tumor cells were still tumorigenic, highly metastatic, unchanged in phenotype and therefore comparable to parental ESb cells. After spontaneous metastasis, whole-organ staining revealed metastatic foci at the surface of the liver. In histological liver sections, metastatic clusters and single dispersed tumor cells could be detected. In contrast to whole-organ staining, histological examination revealed scattered distribution of tumor cells throughout the organ, which was not evident with parental ESb cells. In addition, clusters with diffuse or dense (focal) appearance were found, in correlation with the whole-organ staining. Expression of the foreign lacZ gene allowed the metastatic spread of tumor cells to liver and spleen to be quantified approximately by FACS analysis. Furthermore, it was shown that the newly expressed beta-gal was expressed not only intercellularly but also at the cell surface. There it could be recognized by MAbs and cytotoxic T-cells (CTL). beta-gal did not affect CTL recognition of the ESb tumor-associated antigen. In conclusion, lacZ could be used as a genetic marker for a highly metastatic lymphoma, to define scattered metastatic spread in the liver at the single-cell level and to quantify the tumor load by FACS analysis.

Animals↗

In vivo magnetic resonance imaging of single cells in mouse brain with optical validation.

In the current work we demonstrate, for the first time, that single cells can be detected in mouse brain in vivo using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Cells were labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and injected into the circulation of mice. Individual cells trapped within the microcirculation of the brain could be visualized with high-resolution MRI using optimized MR hardware and the fast imaging employing steady state acquisition (FIESTA) pulse sequence on a 1.5 T clinical MRI scanner. Single cells appear as discrete signal voids on MR images. Direct optical validation was provided by coregistering signal voids on MRI with single cells visualized using high-resolution confocal microscopy. This work demonstrates the sensitivity of MRI for detecting single cells in small animals for a wide range of application from stem cell to cancer cell tracking.

Animals↗

Single-cell gel technique supports hit probability calculations.

We have used the alkaline single-cell gel technique to provide a biological estimate of the percentage of cell nuclei "hit" by alpha particles during in vitro radon exposure. The single-cell gel electrophoretic technique measures DNA strand breaks as increased migration of the DNA out of lysed cells embedded in the middle layer of a three-layer gel formed on a microscope slide. Two of the advantages of this system are that individual cells of an exposed population can be evaluated and that histograms can be constructed to estimate the population response. Chinese hamster ovary and AL cells were each exposed to 0.39 Gy of radon, a dose at which our dosimetry model predicts that 63 and 73%, respectively, of the cell nuclei will be traversed by an alpha particle. The difference in the percentages at similar doses is mainly due to the larger nucleus volume in AL cells. A 1.5-Gy x-ray response was also evaluated as a low-LET control. As expected, the x-ray profile of DNA damage was shifted from the nonirradiated profile in the direction of greater DNA migration and approximated a normal distribution. The profile of the radon-exposed cells was biphasic, with one distribution corresponding to the control (nonirradiated) response and the other profile showing increased DNA migration. We interpret the second profile in the biphasic profile as representing cell nuclei that had received an alpha "hit." The percentages of cell nuclei in the "hit" category (approximately 51 and 45% for CHO and AL, respectively), as judged by the single-cell gel technique, were 81 and 62% of the calculated values.

Alpha Particles↗

Single-cell mutational burden distributions in birth-death processes.

Genetic mutations are footprints of cancer evolution and reveal critical dynamic parameters of tumour growth, which otherwise are hard to measure in vivo. The mutation accumulation in tumour cell populations has been described by various statistics, such as site frequency spectra (SFS), single-cell division distributions (DD) and mutational burden distributions (MBD). While DD and SFS have been intensively studied in phylogenetics especially after the development of whole genome sequencing technology of bulk samples, MBD has drawn attention more recently with the single-cell sequencing data. Although those statistics all arise from the same somatic evolutionary process, an integrated understanding of these distributions is missing and requires novel mathematical tools to better inform the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of tumours. Here we introduce dynamical matrices to analyse and unite the SFS, DD and MBD and derive recurrence relations for the expectations of these three distributions. While we successfully recover classic exact results in pure-birth cases for the SFS and the DD through our new framework, we derive a new expression for the MBD and approximate all three distributions when death is introduced. We demonstrate a natural link between the SFS and the single-cell MBD, and show that the MBD can be regenerated through the DD. Counter-intuitively, the single-cell MBD is mainly driven by the stochasticity arising in the DD, rather than the extra stochasticity in the number of mutations at each cell division.

Single-Cell Analysis↗

Paired Single-Cell Transcriptome and DNA Barcode Detection in Zebrafish Using ScarTrace.

ScarTrace is a CRISPR/Cas9-based genetic lineage tracing method that allows for uniquely barcoding the DNA of single cells at a target GFP sequence during developing zebrafish embryos. Single cells from barcoded adult zebrafish can be isolated from various tissues (e.g., marrow, brain, eyes, fins), and their transcriptome and barcode sequences are captured by single-cell cDNA amplification and genomic DNA nested PCR, respectively. Computationally, cell type and barcode identification permit clone tracing and lineage tree reconstruction of tissues to unravel fate decisions during embryogenesis.

Animals↗

Acquisition of genome information from single-celled unculturable organisms (radiolaria) by exploiting genome profiling (GP).

BACKGROUND: There is no effective method to obtain genome information from single-celled unculturable organisms such as radiolarians. Even worse, such organisms are often very difficult to collect. Sequence analysis of 18S rDNA has been carried out, but obtaining the data has been difficult and it has provided a rather limited amount of genome information. In this paper, we have developed a method which provides a sufficient amount of data from an unculturable organism. The effectiveness of this method was demonstrated by applying it to the provisional classification of a set of unculturable organisms (radiolarians). RESULTS: Dendrogram was drawn regarding the single-celled unculturable species based on the similarity score termed PaSS, offering a consistent result with the conventional taxonomy of them built up based on phenotypes. This fact has shown that genome profiling-based technology developed here can obtain genome information being sufficient for identifying and classifying species from a single-celled organism. CONCLUSION: Since this method is so simple, general, and yet powerful, it can be applied to various organisms and cells, especially single-celled, uncluturable ones, for their genome analysis.

Animals↗

Molecular studies on single cells harvested by micromanipulation from archival tissue sections previously stained by immunohistochemistry or nonisotopic in situ hybridization.

Molecular analysis of isolated single cells is a powerful tool for analyzing heterogeneity within a population of cells and for clarifying issues of cell origin and clonality. Current techniques are limited by the availability of suitable fresh tissue. To broaden the applicability of molecular techniques at single-cell level, we have developed an approach that uses routinely processed archival tissue. Immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) gene rearrangement was analyzed in large tumor cells from four cases of diffuse large cell B-non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and in small reactive T and B lymphocytes from three cases of lymphocytic predominance Hodgkin's disease. One case of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-encoded RNA (EBER)-positive angiocentric pulmonary T-cell lymphoma was assayed for the presence of the BamHI-W multiple-copy fragment of the EBV genome. T- and B-lymphoid cells were immunostained with anti-CD3 and CD20, respectively. The tissue sections from the EBER-positive T-cell lymphoma were stained by nonisotopic in situ hybridization. Single cells were mobilized after proteolytic treatment under an inverted microscope using a hydraulic micromanipulator at a magnification of 400 x. Isolated cells were aspirated into a micropipette fixed to a second micromanipulator and transferred into a PCR tube. The IgH complementarity determining region (CDR)3 was successfully amplified in 17 of 52 (33%) small B-lymphocytes from lymphocytic predominance Hodgkin's disease using a previously reported semi-nested PCR method, and the products from each case differed in size as expected of a polyclonal population. None of the 49 small T lymphocytes demonstrated any amplifiable IgH CDR3 products, indicating no significant cellular contamination. The IgH CDR3 sequence analysis of the PCR products indicated a clonal relationship among harvested cells. In the T-cell lymphoma case, the harvested EBER-positive cells were amplifiable for the multiple-copy fragment BamHI-W of the EBV genome. Our study indicates that single-cell analysis can be performed on paraffin-embedded archival tissue after being subjected to immunoperoxidase and in situ hybridization procedures.

Antigens, CD20↗

On-chip single-cell microcultivation assay for monitoring environmental effects on isolated cells.

We have developed a on-chip single-cell microcultivation assay as a means of observing the adaptation process of single bacterial cells during nutrient concentration changes. This assay enables the direct observation of single cells captured in microchambers made on thin glass slides and having semipermeable membrane lids, in which cells were kept isolated with optical tweezers. After changing a medium of 0.2% (w/v) glucose concentration to make it nutrient-free 0.9% NaCl medium, the growth of all cells inserted into the medium stopped within 20 min, irrespective of their cell cycles. When a nutrient-rich medium was restored, the cells started to grow again, even after the medium had remained nutrient-free for 42 h. The results indicate that the cell's growth and division are directly related to their nutrient condition. The growth curve also indicates that the cells keep their memory of what their growth and division had been before they stopped growing.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Current applications of single-cell PCR.

The advent of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has revolutionised the way in which molecular biologists view their task at hand, for it is now possible to amplify and examine minute quantities of rare genetic material: the limit of this exploration being the single cell. It is especially in the field of prenatal diagnostics that this ability has been readily seized upon, as it has opened up the prospect of preimplantation genetic analysis and the use of fetal cells enriched from the blood of pregnant women for the assessment of single-gene Mendelian disorders. However, apart from diagnostic applications, single-cell PCR has proven to be of enormous use to basic scientists, addressing diverse immunological, neurological and developmental questions, where both the genome but also messenger RNA expression patterns were examined. Furthermore, recent advances, such as optimised whole genome amplification (WGA) procedures, single-cell complementary DNA arrays and perhaps even single-cell comparative genomic hybridisation will ensure that the genetic analysis of single cells will become common practice, thereby opening up new possibilities for diagnosis and research.

Animals↗