Reconstructing Lineage Hierarchies of Mouse Uterus Epithelial Development Using Single-Cell Analysis

• Main Authors: Bingbing Wu, Chengrui An, Yu Li, Zi Yin, Lin Gong, Zhenli Li, Yixiao Liu, Boon Chin Heng, Dandan Zhang, Hongwei Ouyang, Xiaohui Zou
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2017-07-01
• Series: Stem Cell Reports
• Subjects: uterus; luminal and glandular epithelia; single-cell RNA-seq; stem/progenitor cell; lineage hierarchy; transcription factor
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213671117302291

The endometrial layer comprises luminal and glandular epithelia that both develop from the same simple layer of fetal uterine epithelium. Mechanisms of uterine epithelial progenitor self-renewal and differentiation are unclear. This study aims to systematically analyze the molecular and cellular mechanisms of uterine epithelial development by single-cell analysis. An integrated set of single-cell transcriptomic data of uterine epithelial progenitors and their differentiated progenies is provided. Additionally the unique molecular signatures of these cells, characterized by sequential upregulation of specific epigenetic and metabolic activities, and activation of unique signaling pathways and transcription factors, were also investigated. Finally a unique subpopulation of early progenitor, as well as differentiated luminal and glandular lineages, were identified. A complex cellular hierarchy of uterine epithelial development was thus delineated. Our study therefore systematically decoded molecular markers and a cellular program of uterine epithelial development that sheds light on uterine developmental biology.