Single Cell RNA Sequencing of Cultured Primary Tissue Cells.

Using a single cell-RNA sequencing protocol from 10xGenomics, we compared so called cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs, established protocol) to the main non-myocyte cell types of the adult heart: cardiac fibroblasts (CFs), smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and endothelial cells (ECs). Herby, CDCs were disclosed as a heterogenic cell type with clear similarities to cardiac non-myocyte cell types, particularly to CFs and SMCs. Beyond a high proliferation capacity and upregulation of immune-related genes, CDCs exhibited a strong extracellular matrix synthesizing ability and also some angiogenic potential. Subsequently, infant patient derived CDCs were compared to adult CDCs, revealing that infant-CDC upregulated developmental and angiogenic processes. This study represents the first characterization of CDCs by sc-RNAseq and unravels their age-dependent molecular differences. Overall design: 1) Comparison of adult primary cardiac cell types to unravel the identity of CDCs. 2) Comparison of adult CDC to infant patient derived CDC. 10x Genomics protocol was used