Single cell RNA-sequencing of primary Neural Border Stem Cells

We describe a so far uncharacterized, embryonic and self-renewing Neural Border Stem Cell (NBSC) population with capacity to differentiate into central nervous and neural crest lineages. NBSCs can be obtained by neural transcription factor-mediated reprogramming (BRN2, SOX2, KLF4 and ZIC3) of human adult dermal fibroblasts and peripheral blood cells (induced Neural Border Stem Cells, iNBSCs) or by directed differentiation from human induced pluripotent stem cells. Moreover human (i)NBSCs share molecular and functional features with a novel endogenous NBSC population isolated from neural folds of E8.5 mouse embryos. Upon differentiation, iNBSCs give rise to either (1) radial glia-type stem cells, dopaminergic and serotonergic neurons, motoneurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes or (2) cells from the neural crest lineage. Here we provide single cell RNA-sequencing data of two primary mouse Neural Border Stem Cell Lines (pNBSCs). pNBSCs were single cell sorted and RNA sequencing was performed following the Smart-seq2 protocol. In sum, pNBSCs and iNBSCs share a similar regional identity, expression signature and analogous differentiation dynamics on the single-cell-level, further supporting the notion that mouse pNBSCs represent the mouse, embryonic counterpart to human iNBSCs.