Investigate the stemness of adult adipose-derived stromal cells based on single-cell RNA-sequencing

Genomic characteristics of adipose-derived stromal cells induced into neurons based on single-cell RNA sequencing

Adipose-derived stromal cells (ADSCs) can be induced to differentiate into neurons, representing the most promising avenue for cell therapy. However, the molecular mechanism and genomic characteristics of the differentiation of ADSCs into neurons remain poorly understood. In this study, cells from the adult ADSCs group, induction 1h, 3h, 5h, 6h, and 8h groups were selected for single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq). Samples from these seven-time points were sequenced and analyzed. The expression of neuron marker genes, including NES, MAP2, TMEM59L, PTK2B, CHN1, DNM1, NRSN2, FBLN2, SCAMP1, SLC1A1, DLG4, CDK5, and ENO2, was found to be low in the ADSCs group, but highly expressed in differentiated cell clusters. The expression of stem cell marker genes, including CCND1, IL1B, MMP1, MMP3, MYO10, and BMP2, was the highest in the ADSCs cluster. This expression decreased significantly with the extension of induction time. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis of upregulated genes in the induced samples showed that the biological processes related to neuronal differentiation and development, such as neuronal differentiation, projection, and apoptosis, were significantly upregulated with a longer induction time during cell cluster differentiation. The results of the cell communication analysis demonstrated the gradual formation of complex neural network connections between ADSC-derived neurons through receptor and ligand pairs at 5h after the induction of differentiation.

Synaptic endocytosis in adult adipose stromal cell-derived neurons

Synapses are essential for facilitating the transmission of information between neurons and for executing neurophysiological processes. Following the exocytosis of neurotransmitters, the synaptic vesicle may quickly undergo endocytosis to preserve the structural integrity of the synapse. When converting adipose-derived stromal cells (ADSCs) into neurons, the ADSCs have already demonstrated comparable morphology, structure, and electrophysiological characteristics to neurons. Nevertheless, there is currently no published study on the endocytotic function of neurons that are produced from ADSCs. This study aimed to examine synaptic endocytosis in neurons derived from ADSCs by qualitatively and quantitatively analyzing the presence of Ap-2, Clathrin, Endophilin, Dynamin, and Hsc70, which are the key proteins involved in clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME), as well as by using FM1-43 and cadmium selenide quantum dots (CdSe QDs). Additionally, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was used to look at the levels of both neuronal markers and markers related to CME at the same time. The results of this study provide evidence that synapses in neurons produced from ADSCs have a role in endocytosis, mainly through the CME route.