PUBLICATION

Single-cell transcriptome analysis reveals thyrocyte diversity in the zebrafish thyroid gland

Authors
Gillotay, P., Shankar, M., Haerlingen, B., Sema Elif, E., Pozo-Morales, M., Garteizgogeascoa, I., Reinhardt, S., Kränkel, A., Bläsche, J., Petzold, A., Ninov, N., Kesavan, G., Lange, C., Brand, M., Lefort, A., Libert, F., Detours, V., Costagliola, S., Singh, S.P.
ID
ZDB-PUB-201120-10
Date
2020
Source
EMBO reports   21(12): e50612 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Brand, Michael, Costagliola, Sabine, Garteizgogeascoa, Inés, Gillotay, Pierre, Kesavan, Gokul, Ninov, Nikolay, Singh, Sumeet Pal
Keywords
CRISPR/Cas9, heterogeneity, single-cell, thyroid gland, zebrafish
Datasets
GEO:GSE153197
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Thyroid Epithelial Cells*
  • Thyroid Gland*
  • Transcriptome
  • Zebrafish/genetics
PubMed
33140917 Full text @ EMBO Rep.
Abstract
The thyroid gland regulates growth and metabolism via production of thyroid hormone in follicles composed of thyrocytes. So far, thyrocytes have been assumed to be a homogenous population. To uncover heterogeneity in the thyrocyte population and molecularly characterize the non-thyrocyte cells surrounding the follicle, we developed a single-cell transcriptome atlas of the region containing the zebrafish thyroid gland. The 6249-cell atlas includes profiles of thyrocytes, blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, immune cells, and fibroblasts. Further, the thyrocytes show expression heterogeneity, including bimodal expression of the transcription factor pax2a. To validate thyrocyte heterogeneity, we generated a CRISPR/Cas9-based pax2a knock-in line that monitors pax2a expression in the thyrocytes. A population of pax2a-low mature thyrocytes interspersed in individual follicles can be distinguished. We corroborate heterogeneity within the thyrocyte population using RNA sequencing of pax2a-high and pax2a-low thyrocytes, which demonstrates 20% differential expression in transcriptome between the two subpopulations. Our results identify and validate transcriptional differences within the presumed homogenous thyrocyte population.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping