Gene expression profile at single cell level of total alveolar type II (AT2) cells and CD44hi AT2 cells

AT2 cells are the resident progenitor cells in alveoli, capable of self-proliferation and differentiation into alveolar type I cells during homeostatic maintenance and tissue regeneration. The AT2 cell population is heterogenous. We identified a small subpopulation of AT2 cells that express high levels of CD44 (CD44hi) and display progenitor functions during alveoli homeostasis. To further analyze the heterogeneity of the AT2 cell population and characterize CD44hi AT2 cells, we performed single cell RNA-seq on the total AT2 cell population and CD44hi AT2 cells. Total AT2 cells and CD44hi AT2 cells were isolated from 6 SpcER/Tomato/zsGreen mice by fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). Cells were pooled and analyzed using scRNAseq.