Single-cell connectomic analysis of adult mammalian lungs

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) has made it possible to analyze complex organs such as the lung with unprecedented resolution. We have leveraged these techniques to identify conserved patterns of cell-cell cross-talk in adult mammalian lungs, analyzing mouse, rat, pig and human pulmonary tissues. Following clustering and histological registration, we mapped putative ligand-receptor interactions within and between cell types and assessed the significance of these interactions. Our findings demonstrate specific, stereotyped functional roles for each cell type in the distal lung which emerge as top candidates for the regulation of tissue phenotype. Single-cell RNA sequenceing data was generated from the lungs of 2 mice, 2 rats, 2 pigs, and 14 humans Please note that ther are privacy concerns with the raw reads (for the human samples, GSM4050097-GSM4050115), as they are clinical in origin. Thus, the raw data files are intended to be uploaded to dbGaP in the coming months.