Single-Cell RNA-Seq Analysis of cells from human urine

Urine passes through the entire kidney and urinary tract system starting from the glomerulus and ending to the urethra. Cells in the kidney and urinary tract could be exfoliated from the epithelium into the urine, while leukocyte could infiltrate from the local tissue into the urine, which makes the urine a useful subject for clinical evaluation of relevant diseases. We performed scRNA-seq on voided urine samples. 50–100 mL middle stream urine samples were collected from 12 Chinese healthy adults and combined for droplet-based single-cell RNA sequencing after flow cytometric sorting of live cells. We presented the first single-cell atlas of adult human urine and identified multiple previously unrecognized cell types. Based on our scRNA-seq analysis data, a SOX9+ cell population was identified in adult human urine which we speculated to have progenitor potential. For scRNA-seq analysis, urine samples were collected from healthy adult volunteers. Midstream of voided urine specimen was collected for each donor. Samples were centrifuged immediately at the speed of 390 ×g and combined for droplet-based single-cell RNA sequencing after flow cytometric sorting of live cells.