A widespread cell atlas of pig skin from embryonic development to postnatal aging

Skin is the largest barrier organ with complex structure and function, yet the dynamic changes in the molecular characteristics of skin cells from embryonic development to postnatal development and aging remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated the transcriptional dynamics of pig skin during development and aging at single-cell resolution. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we profiled the transcriptomes of 443,529 skin cells derived from 30 individuals of 10 developmental time points staged between 56 days of gestation and 7 years old. Our analysis identified the dynamic changes in the cellular transcriptional profile of eight skin cell types at different developmental stages, exhibiting time-dependent skin cell heterogeneity. Our study provides a more comprehensive cellular transcriptional profile of skin tissue from organogenesis, postnatal development to aging process, which provides a basis for promoting the understanding of skin physiological homeostasis, and also provides insights into studies related to skin inflammatory diseases and pathological aging.

皮肤是结构与功能均极为复杂的最大屏障器官，然而从胚胎发育、出生后发育直至衰老全过程中，皮肤细胞分子特征的动态变化仍未得到充分阐释。本研究以单细胞分辨率，探究了猪皮肤在发育与衰老过程中的转录动态变化。研究团队利用单细胞RNA测序技术，对覆盖妊娠56天至7岁的10个发育时间点的30头个体的443529个皮肤细胞的转录组进行了全景式分析。本研究明确了8种皮肤细胞类型在不同发育阶段的转录组动态变化规律，展现出随时间进程变化的皮肤细胞异质性。本研究构建了从皮肤器官发生、出生后发育直至衰老全过程的皮肤组织细胞转录组图谱，为深化对皮肤生理稳态的理解提供了关键依据，同时也为皮肤炎症性疾病及病理性衰老相关研究提供了重要的研究思路。