Single cell RNA-sequencing of Lepr+ lung mesenchymal cells in normal and fibrotic mouse lungs

A hallmark of pulmonary fibrosis is aberrant activation of lung fibroblasts to become pathological fibroblasts producing excessive extracellular matrix (ECM). Here, we showed Lepr-CreERT2 lineage labels lung mesenchymal cells including the majority of alveolar fibroblasts, which signigicatly contribute to pathological fibroblasts in bleomycin induced lung fibrosis. We isolated CD45-EpCAM-CD31-tdtomato+ lung mesenchymal cells from Lepr-CreERT2;Rosa26-tdTomato mice treated with bleomycin or saline and then applied for single cell RNA-sequencing.