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Gut mucosa dissociation protocols influence cell type proportions and single-cell gene expression levels.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Uniken Venema, Werna TC  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1515-0920
Ramírez-Sánchez, Aarón D 
Bigaeva, Emilia 
Withoff, Sebo 

Abstract

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has revolutionized the study of the cellular landscape of organs. Most single-cell protocols require fresh material, which limits sample size per experiment, and consequently, introduces batch effects. This is especially true for samples acquired through complex medical procedures, such as intestinal mucosal biopsies. Moreover, the tissue dissociation procedure required for obtaining single cells is a major source of noise; different dissociation procedures applied to different compartments of the tissue induce artificial gene expression differences between cell subsets. To overcome these challenges, we have developed a one-step dissociation protocol and demonstrated its use on cryopreserved gut mucosal biopsies. Using flow cytometry and scRNA-seq analysis, we compared this one-step dissociation protocol with the current gold standard, two-step collagenase digestion, and an adaptation of a recently published alternative, three-step cold-active Bacillus licheniformus protease digestion. Both cell viability and cell type composition were comparable between the one-step and two-step collagenase dissociation, with the former being more time-efficient. The cold protease digestion resulted in equal cell viability, but better preserves the epithelial cell types. Consequently, to analyze the rarer cell types, such as glial cells, larger total biopsy cell numbers are required as input material. The multi-step protocols affected cell types spanning multiple compartments differently. In summary, we show that cryopreserved gut mucosal biopsies can be used to overcome the logistical challenges and batch effects in large scRNA-seq studies. Furthermore, we demonstrate that using cryopreserved biopsies digested using a one-step collagenase protocol enables large-scale scRNA-seq, FACS, organoid generation and intraepithelial lymphocyte expansion.

Description

Keywords

Collagenases, Flow Cytometry, Gene Expression, Gene Expression Profiling, Intestinal Mucosa, Peptide Hydrolases, Sequence Analysis, RNA, Single-Cell Analysis

Journal Title

Sci Rep

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2045-2322
2045-2322

Volume Title

12

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC