Revolutionizing stem cell research:unbiased insights through single-cell sequencing

Stem cells have shown great application potential in wound repair,tissue regeneration,and disease treatment.Therefore,a full understanding of stem cells and their related regulatory mechanisms in disease treatment is conducive to improving the therapeutic effect of stem cells.However,thus far,there are still many unsolved mysteries in thefield of stem cells due to technical limitations,which hinder the in-depth exploration of stem cells and their wide clinical application.Single-cell sequencing(SCS)has provided very powerful and unbiased insights into cell gene expression profiles at the single-cell level,bringing exciting results to the stem cellfield.At present,SCS has been widely applied in thefield of stem cells,covering various aspects,including lineage tracing the development of stem cells,identifying new stem cell types,exploring cellular heterogeneity,and identifying internal functional subpopulations.In this paper,we focus on the latest research progress and discuss the application of SCS technology in stem cells.

Thyroid dysfunction in Chinese hepatitis C patients: Prevalence and correlation with TPOAb and CXCL10

AIM: To investigate the relationship among pretreatment serum CXC chemokine ligand 10(CXCL10),thyroid peroxidase antibody(TPOAb) levels and thyroid dysfunction(TD) in Chinese hepatitis C patients.METHODS: One hundred and thirty-nine treatmentnaive genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C patients with no history of TD or treatment with thyroid hormones were enrolled in this study.Patients underwent peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin(Peg IFNα-2a/RBV) treatment for 48 wk,followed by detection of clinical factors at each follow-up point.Hepatitis C virus(HCV) antibodies were analyzed using microsomal chemiluminescence,and serum HCV RNA was measured by real-time PCR assay at 0,4,12,24 and 48 wk after the initiation of therapy and 24 wk after the end of therapy.To assess thyroid function,serum thyroid stimulating hormone(TSH),free thyroxine(FT4),free triodothyronine(FT3) and TPOAb/thyroglobulin antibody(TGAb) levels were determined using chemiluminescent immunoassays every 3 mo.Serum CXCL10 levels were determined at baseline.RESULTS: The prevalence of TD was 18.0%.Twentyone(84.0%) out of twenty-five patients exhibited normal thyroid function at week 24 after therapy.The rate of sustained virological response to Peg IFNα-2a/RBV in our study was 59.0%(82/139),independent of thyroid function.Pretreatment serum CXCL10 levels were significantly increased in patients with euthyroidstatus compared with patients with TD(495.2 ± 244.2 pg/m L vs 310.0 ± 163.4 pg/m L,P = 0.012).Patients with TD were more frequently TPOAb-positive than non-TD(NTD) patients(24.2% vs 12.3%,P = 0.047) at baseline.Three of the one hundred and fifteen patients without TPOAb at baseline developed TD at the end of treatment(37.5% vs 2.6%,P = 0.000).Female patients exhibited an increased risk for developing TD compared with male patients(P = 0.014).CONCLUSION: Lower pretreatment serum CXCL10 levels are associated with TD,and TD prevalence increases in female patients and patients who are positive for TPOAb at baseline.

宁南山区不同植被恢复方式下土壤线虫群落特征:形态学鉴定与高通量测序法比较

线虫是土壤食物网的重要组分,也是土壤健康与生态系统恢复的重要指示生物,因此准确测定线虫群落特征是发挥其生态指示作用的基础。传统线虫学研究多采用形态学鉴定方法,但高通量测序技术近年来也逐渐受到重视。然而,关于这两种方法的对比研究目前仍比较缺乏。本研究同时采用形态学鉴定和高通量测序法,在黄土高原宁夏南部山区,对不同植被恢复方式下(农田、自然恢复草地、柠条(Caragana korshinskii)人工林地和苜蓿人工草地)土壤线虫的数量、群落格局和生态指数进行了测定和比较。结果表明:(1)高通量测序仅能提供线虫类群的相对多度,而形态学鉴定法能够测定土壤线虫的绝对多度,后者测定结果表明3种植被恢复样地,特别是自然恢复草地和柠条人工林地,较农田具有更高的土壤线虫多度;(2)高通量测序法检获的线虫类群数(3纲4目26科42属)高于形态学鉴定法的测定结果(2纲3目18科27属),但两种方法仅检获15个共有线虫属,前者检测到的植物寄生线虫属数(22属)较后者(7属)显著增加,而食细菌线虫和杂食–捕食线虫则相反;(3)在两种方法下,相比农田,3种植被恢复样地尤其是自然恢复草地和柠条人工林地,其食微线虫的相对多度均显著下降,而植物寄生线虫和杂食–捕食线虫的相对多度大幅上升,这也导致线虫成熟度指数(MI)和植物寄生线虫指数(PPI)的提高及瓦斯乐卡指数(WI)的显著下降;(4)相比形态学鉴定法,高通量测序法能检测到更丰富多样的植物寄生线虫,在该方法下土壤线虫群落的组成、结构和生态指数在植被恢复样地与农田之间的差异也更为显著。综上所述,采用形态学鉴定和高通量测序法测定的不同植被恢复方式下的线虫群落特征具有显著差异。