ӳ����ý

The ability to monitor the function and activity of single cells in isolation using RNA sequencing enables researchers to uncover the remarkable heterogeneity of tissues. Using a new microfluidic system to prepare cells for single-cell RNA sequencing, a team of scientists at the ӳ����ý and Fluidigm, led by ӳ����ý core member Aviv Regev, associate member Hongkun Park, and Fluidigm scientist Andrew May, analyzed the transcriptomes of more than 1,700 primary mouse bone-marrow-derived dendritic cells. One of the largest single-cell genomic data sets produced so far, the study revealed a subpopulation of “precocious” cells expressing antiviral genes earlier in the immune response process than other cells, and highlighted the importance of cell-to-cell communication.

In this ӳ����ý Paper Vid, first author and ӳ����ý researcher Alex Shalek tells the story behind the research, which appears in . Shalek explains the power of this approach and describes how discoveries of subpopulations like the “precocious” cells are only possible by examining samples one cell at a time.

Paper cited:

Shalek, et al. . Nature. 510, 363–369 (19 June 2014). DOI: 10.1038/nature13437