Effects of zinc supplementation in the temporal transcriptomic profiling of human primary fetal RPE cell using single-cell RNA sequencing

This is the first publication that assessed the complex molecular changes that underpin acute zinc supplementation-induced changes at the single cell RNA sequencing level in a well-characterised age-related macular degeneration (AMD) cell model. The retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells were allowed to mature for up to 19 weeks, during which time they developed sub-RPE deposits, a hallmark of AMD. Comparing the scRNA-Seq data from cells after two-, nine- and 19 weeks in culture, we identified distinct clusters of cells. Pseudotemporal ordering of the combined gene lists from all time points identified genes implicated in the dynamics of RPE cell differentiation, with enrichment in biologically plausible pathways. Acute (1 week) zinc supplementation (125 µM added zinc) resulted in the differential expression of several genes, including specific transcriptional regulators. In this in vitro study, we compared scRNA-Seq data from fetal RPE cells after two-, nine- and 19 weeks in culture and how these were modified by acute (1 week) zinc supplementation (125 µM added zinc).