Divergent cell differentiation trajectory in normal and heterotopic ossified soft connective tissues

We used single-cell RNA sequencing and a gene knockout mice model to reveal the heterogeneity and differentiation trajectory of tendon derived cells in both physiological and pathoplogical conditons. Wild type(WT) and Mkx-/- tail tendon cells derived from 4-week-old mice were captured on a high-throughput IFC microfluidic Fluidigm C1 system. Wells with no cell or more than one cells were excluded for further analysis, resulting in 227 WT tail tendon cells and 224 Mkx-/- tail tendon cells.