Single-cell Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Dynamic Cell Populations and Differential Gene Expression Patterns in Control and Aneurysmal Human Aortic Tissue.

Ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm (ATAA) is caused by the progressive weakening and dilatation of the aortic wall and can lead to aortic dissection, rupture, and other life-threatening complications. To improve understanding of ATAA pathogenesis, the authors sought to comprehensively characterize the cellular composition of the ascending aortic wall and to identify molecular alterations in each cell population of human ATAA tissues using single-cell RNA sequencing technology.