Cellular heterogeneity of human fallopian tubes in normal and hydrosalpinx disease states identified using scRNA-seq
Fallopian tube (FT) homeostasis requires dynamic regulation of heterogeneous cell populations and is disrupted in infertility and ovarian cancer. Here, we applied single-cell RNA-seq to profile 59,738 FT cells from four healthy, pre-menopausal subjects. The resulting cell atlas contains 12 major cell types representing epithelial, stromal, and immune compartments. Re-clustering of epithelial cells identified four ciliated and six non-ciliated secretory epithelial subtypes, two of which represent potential progenitor pools: one leading to mature secretory cells and the other contributing to either ciliated cells or one of the stromal cell types. To understand how FT cell numbers and states change in a disease state, we analyzed 17,798 cells from two hydrosalpinx samples and observed shifts in epithelial and stromal populations and cell-type-specific changes in extracellular matrix and TGF-β signaling; this underscores fibrosis pathophysiology. This resource is expected to facilitate future studies aimed at expanding understanding of fallopian tube homeostasis in normal development and disease.
Journal
Developmental CellAuthors
Funding
Contributions of Sperm Chromatin to development: A Myth or Reality?Immunobiology of Lung Injury and FibrosisThe University of Michigan Bioinformatics Training ProgramCareer Training in Reproductive BiologyComprehensive mapping of mouse testis cell types and spermatogenic stages by single-cell RNA sequencingEngineering a biomimetic matrix to promote development of human ovarian follicles in vitroCellular and Molecular Biology at Michigan