Single cell RNA sequencing redefines the mesenchymal cell landscape of mouse endometrium [bulkRNAseq]

The goal of this study was to generate an NGS-derived transcriptome profile (RNA-seq) for a population of perivascular mesenchymal cells from healthy cycling Pdgfrb-BAC-eGFP mouse uterus. Bulk RNAseq revealed cells in the perivascular niche which express high levels of Pdgfrb (GFPhigh) also express genes previously identified in pericytes and/or vascular smooth muscle cells including Acta2, Myh11, Olfr78, Cspg4, Rgs4, Rgs5, Kcnj8 and Abcc9. Our work uncovers novel target genes for perivascular cell populations in mouse endometrium providing a platform to understand the role of these cells in endometrial physiology and disease. We present NGS mRNA profiles of mesenchymal cells isolated from the uteri of 12 healthy cycling mice. Pdgfrb+/GFP+ mesenchymal cells can be separated into GFPhigh perivascular cells and GFPlow stromal fibroblasts. The transcriptomic profile for GFPhigh cells was inferred by comparing GFPtotal cells (GFPhigh+GFPlow, termed Naive(N)) with GFPlow cells (termed Stromal (S)).