P173 - Single-Cell RNA-Seq Reveals Novel Musculoskeletal Cell Populations during Adult Axolotl Limb Regeneration Process
Abstract
Purpose
While regeneration capacity is limited in mammals including humans, unlike us, axolotls are able to regrow entire limbs and major organs; therefore, knowing how they regenerate should provide essential clues for limb regenerative medicine. However, the regenerative mechanism in axolotls remains poorly understood, partly due to the inadequate characterization of the cell populations involved in the regeneration process. Thus, more precise and detailed cell population analysis during limb regeneration are critical to be elucidatedmore precise and detailed cell population analysis during limb regeneration are critical to be elucidated.
Methods and Materials
In this study, we applied unbiased large-scale single-cell RNA sequencing to classify cells throughout the adult axolotl limb regeneration process and computationally identified clusters in regenerating limbs.
Results
We identified 7 clusters in regenerating limbs, including the chondrocytes cluster contributing to regeneration through cell-cell interactions signals. We also discovered the dedifferentiation and re-differentiation of the COL1+/COL2+ subpopulation and uncovered a COL2-mitochondria sub-cluster supporting the musculoskeletal system regeneration.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we reconstructed the dynamic single-cell transcriptome atlas of adult axolotl limb regenerative process, found out the mechanisms of chondrocyte contributing to regeneration and identified the novel regenerative COL2-mitochondria musculoskeletal populations, yielding deeper insights into the crucial interactions between cell clusters within the regenerative microenvironment.
