LOESS-Corrected UMI Counts Enable Absolute RNA Quantification in Single-Cell Transcriptomics

The parathyroid gland is one of the endocrine glands in the body and plays a key role in regulating calcium and phosphate homeostasis through the production and release of parathyroid hormone (PTH). Despite its physiological importance, research on the parathyroid gland remains limited due to its small size and concealed anatomical location. Previous studies have suggested that the parathyroid gland consists of principal cells, acidophilic cells, and other cell types. While recent studies have applied single-cell sequencing to investigate the rat parathyroid gland, a comprehensive analysis of cell subpopulations, gene expression differences, and rare cell types is still needed. Therefore, this study aims to further utilize single-cell sequencing technology to analyze the transcriptional profiles of different cell types in the normal rat parathyroid gland, refine the characterization of cellular diversity, and provide additional insights into the molecular landscape of the rat parathyroid gland.甲状旁腺（parathyroid gland）是人体内分泌腺之一，可通过合成并分泌甲状旁腺激素（parathyroid hormone, PTH），在调节机体钙磷稳态（calcium and phosphate homeostasis）过程中发挥核心作用。尽管其生理功能至关重要，但由于体积微小且解剖位置隐匿，甲状旁腺的相关研究仍较为匮乏。既往研究表明，甲状旁腺由主细胞、嗜酸性细胞及其他细胞类型组成。尽管近期已有研究应用单细胞测序（single-cell sequencing）技术对大鼠甲状旁腺开展探究，但针对细胞亚群、基因表达差异及稀有细胞类型的全面分析仍有待完善。因此，本研究拟进一步借助单细胞测序技术，分析正常大鼠甲状旁腺内不同细胞类型的转录组特征，细化细胞多样性的特征解析，并为阐明大鼠甲状旁腺的分子图谱提供全新视角。