Single-cell transcriptome dynamics in stabilized pituitary gonadotrope cells [smartseq_pituitary]

Studying dynamic transcripts in single cells (SC) requires large numbers of timed samples. We report an easy to use protocol to stabilize RNA in intact SCs without perturbing transcriptional patterns, and demonstrate its applicability for SC transcriptome assays with cells and tissue. We identify a gene-specific hierarchical pattern of all-or-none transcript induction elicited by different concentrations of pulsatile hormone stimuli in pituitary gonadotropes. SC RNA-seq was performed on primary mouse pituitary cell cultures following stabilization in RNA-Best and IFC-SC isolation. A total of 56 SCs were analyzed.