Mesenchymal stromal cells are a diverse group of spindle-shaped cells that can differentiate into various cell types. They also modulate the functions of the immune system in varying capacities. In fact, given the ease of access and efficient culture ability of mesenchymal stromal cells from the oral mucosa, these cells are increasingly being explored as a source of regenerative therapy. However, despite their huge potential, underlying molecular differences in this cell population if any, continue to remain unexplored.
Moreover, while bulk sequencing methods such as Next Generation RNA sequencing do reveal phenotypic heterogeneity, they also mask true variations between cell populations and are unable to distinguish rarer cell sub-populations.
Addressing this knowledge gap, researchers from Israel employed single-cell RNA sequencing to determine the transcriptomic differences in mesenchymal stromal cell populations obtained from functionally distinct tissues lining the oral cavity.
They isolated mesenchymal stromal cells from the masticatory oral mucosa and lining oral mucosa of three Caucasian females. These cells were then grown in an external culture medium for analysis and comparison of genetic expression at a cellular level using single-cell RNA sequencing.
The study revealed 11 distinct cell clusters, which were annotated as fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, and mesenchymal stem cells. Of these eleven cell clusters, only one cluster was found to have a considerable overlap in both masticatory and lining oral mucosa cells. On the basis of gene expression pattern analysis, this cell cluster was further annotated as mesenchymal stem cells. Moreover, a majority of cells from this cluster belonged to the masticatory mucosa, leading to the conclusion that cells from the stem-cell enriched masticatory mucosa could be a potential source for cell-based therapies.
Furthermore, the cells from the lining and masticatory oral mucosa differed significantly in their genetic expression, and their genetic patterns revealed enrichment for different biological functions. While the cells of the masticatory mucosa largely expressed genes that favour wound healing, cells from the lining mucosa expressed genes that were predominantly involved in regulating the proliferation of epithelial cells. Interestingly, several cell clusters were annotated as smooth muscle cells, with a greater proportion of cells in the masticatory mucosa exhibiting smooth muscle cell-like properties.
To sum up, this study built a high-quality dataset that maps the molecular diversity of oral-mucosa derived mesenchymal stromal cells. Moreover, it also provides a basis for isolating mesenchymal stem cells to facilitate cell-based tissue regeneration in the future.
Title of the paper:
Single-cell Transcriptomic Analysis of Oral Masticatory and Lining Mucosa-derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells
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