New single-cell genomics technologies

Embryo is how the formation of our lungs, muscles, nerves and other tissues of the cells? A new method can be decoded so that the embryonic cells capable of proliferating universal genetic instructions and transformed into the body of many types of specialized cells.

The beginning of a group is the same cell, with the proliferation of constantly changing shape and function, we eventually becomes lungs, muscles, nerves, and other features of the body all cells in the tissue. This embryo has the ability to create miracles.

Now, in a reverse tissue engineering feat, researchers at Stanford University begins to unravel and make embryonic cells can proliferate into the genetic code to perform complex biological functions of all the different specialized cells.

The interdisciplinary research team selected mice at different time points in the development cycle, access to the lung cells from mouse embryos. The use of new single-cell genomic analysis of new technologies, they recorded at each time point of gene activation. Although their study of lung cells, their technology is applicable to all cell types.

Head of the research team, the College of Engineering at Stanford University professor Stephen Quake, said: "This is how to do reverse engineering organization devised a blueprint."

In published in "Nature" (Nature) research paper in the journal, he and co-author, Professor of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Mark Krasnow, as well as an assistant professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine Tushar Desai along with a detailed description of these experiments.

Alveolar cells they studied using this reverse engineering methods. Alveolar vascular receiving oxygen and remove carbon dioxide in a "transfer station."

Quake laboratory postdoctoral scholar Barbara Treutlein, and Krasnow laboratory postdoctoral researcher Doug Brownfield together from three stages of pregnancy: 14.5 days, 16.5 days and 18.5 days Mouse Insulin-like growth factor 1 ELISA Kit http://www.cusabio.com/ELISA_Kit-84017/ to obtain embryonic mice at 198 lung cells. They also made some of the lung cells from adult mice.

Using standard enzyme technology, let them dissolve in lung tissue cells together to form proteins, followed by sub-elected as the focus of their research specific alveolar cell types. Their next step involves reverse engineering process as the core of their new skills.

Recall eyedropper is how it works. Extruded rubber ball exhaust air; put it filled with a solution to make the solution; rubber ball again squeeze out the liquid. In recent years, the use of bio-level mathematicians in which the principles developed microfluidic device, which can precisely draw a single cell from the solution, the study of its genetic material into the separation chamber

Quake laboratory research has lead to the use of single-cell microfluidic chips. In this study, they used a microfluidic device to capture the 198 samples of lung cells. Then they use single-cell genome sequencing to detect each time point in each cell activation genes.

How they are to decipher the genome of a single cell in the activity of it? Each nucleus contains DNA of the entire genome of an organism. This is why a single cell organism may construct a reason. But at a specific point in time a particular gene in a cell, only a portion of an active state. This is also different from the reasons why the lung cells of hair cells; each cell with a different set of activation gene to control its functionality.

Genes control cell activity by generating mRNA. Each mRNA directed to the cell to produce a special protein. Cell is essentially a group of interacting proteins. Thus activation of mRNAs known to understand the function of the cells are trapped in the microfluidic device is provided when a lens.

Using this process, researchers at Stanford University for the first time reveals precisely these special alveolar lung cells toward mature regulatory genes at each stage of development.

The researchers obtained two important studies on the tip of the alveolar cell types important discovery and development. Type I alveolar cells are the body's most flat cells. Located next to the type I alveolar cells, blood cells are responsible for the transmission of oxygen or carbon dioxide to obtain. Thickness of these cells is essential for the promotion of this gas exchange.

Type II alveolar cells small, cube-shaped. They secrete a number of proteins to prevent alveolar atrophy, in order to maintain the internal space of oxygen and carbon dioxide to pass.

The use of single-cell genomics, researchers can manipulate the reverse development process, reveals the former single cell type body is how to generate two different mature alveolar cells.

The researchers also captured the precursor cells into mature cell state transitions of the cell, to get some information about the differentiation of alveolar cells important understanding.

Although the study will focus on the lung cells that capture single cells in different stages of embryonic development, gene activity by measuring mRNA sequencing techniques applied to reverse or manipulate other organizations.

In addition to studies of embryonic development, this technology can also be used in a clinical setting. For example, researchers can study the differences between individual cell tumor, enhance our understanding of the various stages of cancer, contributed to a better, more targeted therapies.

Desai said: "We recognize that this technology is a specific cell populations, including a quantum rare cell populations with specific functional diversity of cell types in the overall ability of a leap to get the full molecular characteristics of each cell type, including their sent and received. signal, will be able to show a snapshot of a single communication between cells, it is possible to provide an attractive therapeutic target for the disease. "