Single Cell RNA-sequencing analyasis of mouse glutamatergic myenteric neurons

The study aimed to uncover the molecular profile of mouse Vglut2-possitive enteric neurons (VGLUT2-ENs) by single-cell mRNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). Method: We performed scRNA-seq of VGLUT2-ENs from distal intestine extracted from 6-8 weeks mice. We removed the non-neuronal cells, performed Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on the gene expression level of 15 well accepted and curated myenteric neuron markers, and analyzed the expression of the mechanosensitive ion channels. Results: clustering analysis results from PCA on the 15 gene markers indicates a dominant cluster of VGLUT2-ENs; By comparing the expression levels of the mechanosensitive ion channels Piezo1 and Piezo2 in the non-VGLUT2- ENs and VGLUT2-ENs, we find significantly less expression level of piezo1 and piezo2 genes in the VGLUT2-EN population as compared with myenteric neurons negative for VGLUT2. Conclusion: Molecular profiling of VGLUT2-ENs through single-cell mRNA sequencing unveiled a unique expression profile, distinguishing them from typical interneurons. Additionally, VGLUT2-ENs displayed minimal expression of mechanosensitive ion channels (Piezo1 and Piezo2), setting them apart from mechanosensitive interneurons. We isolated single Vglut2-possitive enteric neurons from distal colorectum of VGLUT2-tdTomato mice using fluorescence-assisted manual cell picking, and obtained transcriptomes by single cell mRNA-sequencing.