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Single Cell Omics for Musculoskeletal Research

  • Genetics (D Karasik and C Ackert-Bicknell, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Osteoporosis Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

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The ability to analyze the molecular events occurring within individual cells as opposed to populations of cells is revolutionizing our understanding of musculoskeletal tissue development and disease. Single cell studies have the great potential of identifying cellular subpopulations that work in a synchronized fashion to regenerate and repair damaged tissues during normal homeostasis. In addition, such studies can elucidate how these processes break down in disease as well as identify cellular subpopulations that drive the disease. This review highlights three emerging technologies: single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin using sequencing (ATAC-seq), and Cytometry by Time-Of-Flight (CyTOF) mass cytometry.

Recent Findings

Technological and bioinformatic tools to analyze the transcriptome, epigenome, and proteome at the individual cell level have advanced rapidly making data collection relatively easy; however, understanding how to access and interpret the data remains a challenge for many scientists. It is, therefore, of paramount significance to educate the musculoskeletal community on how single cell technologies can be used to answer research questions and advance translation.

Summary

This article summarizes talks given during a workshop on “Single Cell Omics” at the 2020 annual meeting of the Orthopedic Research Society. Studies that applied scRNA-seq, ATAC-seq, and CyTOF mass cytometry to cartilage development and osteoarthritis are reviewed. This body of work shows how these cutting-edge tools can advance our understanding of the cellular heterogeneity and trajectories of lineage specification during development and disease.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (AR075899 to CLW, AG15768 to F Guilak, AR070139 to TC, AR070864 and AR070865 to NB) and National Science Foundation (Graduate Research Fellowship to F. Grandi).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Muhammad Farooq Rai

  2. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Washington University and Shriners Hospitals for Children, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Chia-Lung Wu, Farshid Guilak & Amanda R. Dicks

  3. Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Terence D. Capellini & Pushpanathan Muthuirulan

  4. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Fiorella Grandi & Nidhi Bhutani

  5. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Jennifer J. Westendorf

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  1. Muhammad Farooq Rai
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Correspondence to Jennifer J. Westendorf.

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MFR, TC, PM, FG, NB, and JJW declare no conflicts of interest.

CLW, ARD, and FG have a patent pending on compositions and methods discussed within.

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Rai, M.F., Wu, CL., Capellini, T.D. et al. Single Cell Omics for Musculoskeletal Research. Curr Osteoporos Rep 19, 131–140 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11914-021-00662-2

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