Single nucleus RNA sequencing and functional in vivo studies reveal TCF21 as a protective regulator in cardiac fibrosis

Cardiac fibrosis is the hallmark underlying variosus forms of heart disease including aortic stenosis, contributing significantly to disease progression and mortality. However, the molecular mechanistic details remain largely unknown. We conducted single nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) on human fibrotic AS and non-failing donor heart samples to track pathological changes at single-cell resolution and to identify cell-specific candidate genes involved in cardiac fibrosis. RNA expression profiling of aortic stenosis patient and non-failing control heart (left ventricle) biopsies by single-nucleus-sequencing