Cellular plasticity and diversity during heart valve epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions revealed using single-cell RNA-seq

We have generated scRNA-seq data from embryonic day (E)10.5 and E12.5 atrioventricular canals (primitive heart valves) to assess cellular diversity during the distinct epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions (EMTs) from endocardium and epicardium that guide the formation of valve mesenchyme. Alongside, wildtype atrioventricular canals, we generated scRNA-seq data from Sox9 conditional knockouts (Sox9fl/fl;Tie2-cre) to explore the role of SOX9 in EMT. Atrioventricular canals were microdissected from cardiac chambers and outflow tract, enriching for heart valve progenitor lineages.本研究生成了胚胎日（E）10.5与E12.5房室管（原始心瓣膜）的单细胞RNA测序（single-cell RNA sequencing, scRNA-seq）数据，用于评估引导瓣膜间充质形成的、源自心内膜与心外膜的不同上皮间质转化（epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions, EMTs）过程中的细胞多样性。除野生型房室管样本外，我们还从Sox9条件性敲除小鼠（Sox9fl/fl;Tie2-cre）中获取了scRNA-seq数据，以探究SOX9在上皮间质转化中的作用。本研究中的房室管均从心腔与流出道中显微解剖获得，以富集心瓣膜祖细胞谱系。