Gene expression profile on the single cell level of atherosclerotic plaque from mice with MCP1 knockout in Lgals3-transitioned smooth muscle cells

Many different subsets of smooth muscle cells (SMC) are present in advanced atherosclerotic plaque. We used single cell sequencing to interrogate the impact of MCP1 made by Lgals+ smooth muscle cells on smooth muscle and immune cell subsets in advanced atherosclerotic plaque Advanced atherosclerotic plaques were microdissected from the brachiocephalic artery of dual lineage smooth muscle lineage tracing mice with wild-type, heterozygous, or homozygous MCP1 knockout alleles. Part of the sample was sequenced directly and a portion underwent sorting for Myh11+ SMC (marked by tdTomato) and Lgals3-transitioned SMC (marked by GFP) to enrich for these smooth muscle subsets.