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. 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