A widespread cell atlas of pig skin from embryonic development to postnatal aging

Skin is the largest barrier organ with complex structure and function, yet the dynamic changes in the molecular characteristics of skin cells from embryonic development to postnatal development and aging remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated the transcriptional dynamics of pig skin during development and aging at single-cell resolution. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we profiled the transcriptomes of 443,529 skin cells derived from 30 individuals of 10 developmental time points staged between 56 days of gestation and 7 years old. Our analysis identified the dynamic changes in the cellular transcriptional profile of eight skin cell types at different developmental stages, exhibiting time-dependent skin cell heterogeneity. Our study provides a more comprehensive cellular transcriptional profile of skin tissue from organogenesis, postnatal development to aging process, which provides a basis for promoting the understanding of skin physiological homeostasis, and also provides insights into studies related to skin inflammatory diseases and pathological aging.