Mapping The Cell Atlas Of Human Urinary System By High Throughput Single-cell RNA-Sequencing

The urinary system,as part of human metabolism,plays an important role in excreting waste,regulating the total amount of fluids,maintaining electrolytes and the acid-base balance.Scientists' previous understanding of the urinary system was based on anatomy.With the gradual rise of targeted therapy and precision medicine,it is of great significance to study the urinary system at the molecular level.The rapid development of single-cell technology has made it possible to draw molecular maps of complex systems at single-cell level.Applying this technique to the urinary system,we can draw a single-cell transcriptome atlas include kidney,bladder,and ureter.Through systematic analysis of the atlas,novel cell types such as nephrogenic mesenchyme cell,kidney-derived neuron and antigen-presenting endothelial cell were discovered,and the presence of antigen-presenting endothelial in the bladder was identified by immunofluorescence.The ligand receptor analysis and entropy analysis of fetal and adult kidney revealed the differences between fetal and adult.Subsequently,this study construct a cell type comparison database,which can relatively quickly and accurately annotate the cell types of RNA-seq data.Finally,the study compared the conserved cell types of the human and mouse,and showed the representative conservative transcription factors.This work will help scientists to understand the basic functions of the urinary system and precision medicine with related diseases.