2011 | Saiful Islam, Una Kjällquist, Annalena Moliner, Pawel Zajac, Jian-Bing Fan, Peter Lönnerberg, Sten Linnarsson
The article describes a novel strategy for analyzing complex tissue samples by generating single-cell RNA-seq profiles and clustering them into a two-dimensional cell map. This approach integrates three levels of organization: the whole population of cells, functionally distinct subpopulations, and individual cells, without the need for known markers to classify cell types. The method, called single-cell tagged reverse transcription (STRT), is highly multiplexed and can analyze up to 96 single cells in a single incubation step. The authors demonstrate the feasibility of this strategy by analyzing the transcriptomes of 85 single cells from two distinct mouse cell types: embryonic stem cells (ES) and embryonic fibroblasts (MEF). The results show that STRT can accurately identify and distinguish cell types based on gene expression patterns, providing a powerful tool for unbiased discovery and analysis of naturally occurring cell types during development, adult physiology, and disease.The article describes a novel strategy for analyzing complex tissue samples by generating single-cell RNA-seq profiles and clustering them into a two-dimensional cell map. This approach integrates three levels of organization: the whole population of cells, functionally distinct subpopulations, and individual cells, without the need for known markers to classify cell types. The method, called single-cell tagged reverse transcription (STRT), is highly multiplexed and can analyze up to 96 single cells in a single incubation step. The authors demonstrate the feasibility of this strategy by analyzing the transcriptomes of 85 single cells from two distinct mouse cell types: embryonic stem cells (ES) and embryonic fibroblasts (MEF). The results show that STRT can accurately identify and distinguish cell types based on gene expression patterns, providing a powerful tool for unbiased discovery and analysis of naturally occurring cell types during development, adult physiology, and disease.