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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Jun 26, 2020; 12(6): 438-447
Published online Jun 26, 2020. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v12.i6.438
Recent advances of single-cell RNA sequencing technology in mesenchymal stem cell research
Guan Zheng, Zhong-Yu Xie, Peng Wang, Yan-Feng Wu, Hui-Yong Shen
Guan Zheng, Zhong-Yu Xie, Peng Wang, Hui-Yong Shen, Department of Orthopedics, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518033, Guangdong Province, China
Yan-Feng Wu, Center for Biotherapy, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510120, Guangdong Province, China
Author contributions: Zheng G, Xie ZY, and Wang P conceived the manuscript and collected the supportive literature; Wu YF and Shen HY revised and proofread the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81871750 and No. 81971518; the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, No. 19ykpy01 and No. 20ykpy04; and the Key Laboratory of Basic Research and Clinical Translation of Ankylosing Spondylitis, No. ZDSYS20190902092851024.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to declare.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hui-Yong Shen, MD, PhD, Doctor, Professor, Department of Orthopedics, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 3025, Shennan Middle Road, Futian District, Shenzhen 518033, Guangdong Province, China. shenhuiy@mail.sysu.edu.cn
Received: February 29, 2020
Peer-review started: February 29, 2020
First decision: April 25, 2020
Revised: May 13, 2020
Accepted: May 27, 2020
Article in press: May 27, 2020
Published online: June 26, 2020
Processing time: 117 Days and 7.9 Hours
Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stromal cells with great potential for clinical applications. However, little is known about their cell heterogeneity at a single-cell resolution, which severely impedes the development of MSC therapy. In this review, we focus on advances in the identification of novel surface markers and functional subpopulations of MSCs made by single-cell RNA sequencing and discuss their participation in the pathophysiology of stem cells and related diseases. The challenges and future directions of single-cell RNA sequencing in MSCs are also addressed in this review.

Keywords: Mesenchymal stem cells; Single-cell RNA sequencing; Pathophysiology; Novel surface markers

Core tip: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are an important kind of multipotent stroma cells in vivo. Previous studies have focused on large groups of cells. In this review, we focus on advances in the identification of novel surface markers and functional subpopulations of MSCs made by single-cell RNA sequencing and discuss their participation in the pathophysiology of stem cells and related diseases.