Single cell transcriptome and chromatin accessibility sequencing of human embryonic stem cells differentiation into definitive endoderm

The definitive endoderm (DE) in early embryogenesis gives rise to a variety of functional specialized epithelial cell types that eventually produce the gut and contribute to a variety of intestinal organs including lungs, liver, stomach, intestine, thyroid, thymus, and pancreas. Induced in vitro, human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) could differentiate into progenitor cells mimicking DE. However, the induced cells are usually heterogenous, dampening their potential in research and medical application. In this project, we applied single cell techniques to profile transcriptome and chromatin accessibility of hESC differentiation into DE. We aimed to present the nature of the differentiation heterogeneity, and to uncover the cis-elements and trans-factors linking to this phenomenon.