单细胞转录组学技术在肢体再生研究中的应用

Single-cell transcriptomics technology and its application in limb regeneration research

蝾螈具有极强的肢体再生能力,爪蟾在发育过程中再生能力则逐渐下降,而人类和其它哺乳动物的成年个体没有肢体再生能力。借助单细胞转录组学技术可以分析细胞转录水平的优势,以蝾螈、爪蟾等肢体可再生的动物为模型,近年研究已发现并鉴定了一系列调控肢体再生的关键基因、信号通路和细胞类群,提示再生能力存在潜在的进化保守机制。单细胞转录组学技术在跨物种研究中的应用,使得免疫细胞、成纤维细胞类型和能量代谢机制对再生的重要影响得到进一步挖掘,再生组织细胞来源和异质性得以进一步明确,为解释再生相关机制奠定理论依据。单细胞多组学技术的发展和应用将有望为进一步研究有效提升哺乳动物再生能力指明方向。

Salamanders have a strong ability to regenerate limbs,while this potential is progressively declined in frogs during development.With evolution,adults of humans and other mammals completely lose the ability to regenerate limbs.With the advantages of single-cell transcriptomics in analyzing cellular transcription,a number of key genes,cell populations and signaling pathways regulating limb regeneration have been identified using salamanders and frogs as research models in recent years.This suggest that there are potential evolutionary conserved regulatory mechanisms for limb regeneration.With the help of single-cell transcriptomics,cross-species studies have allowed the important roles of immune cells,fibroblasts and energy metabolism on regeneration to be further explored.Together with advances in confirming the regeneration origination and cell heterogeneity,the current studies using single-cell techniques have provided the theoretical basis for understanding regenerationrelated mechanisms.The development and application of single-cell multi-omics technologies could hopefully figure out the way for further research to effectively enhance the regenerative capacity of mammals.