Integrative single-cell and cell-free plasma RNA transcriptomics elucidates placental cellular dynamics

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1710470114
• Publication Date: 2017-08-23T00:35:14Z
• Authors: Jason C. H. Tsang; Joaquim S. L. Vong; Lu Ji; Liona C. Y. Poon; Peiyong Jiang; Kathy O. Lui; Yun-Bi Ni; Ka Fai To; Yvonne K. Y. Cheng; Rossa W. K. Chiu; Yuk Ming Dennis Lo
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 0303 health sciences; Placenta; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; Trophoblasts; Plasma; 03 medical and health sciences; Pre-Eclampsia; Pregnancy; Humans; RNA; Female; Single-Cell Analysis; Transcriptome; Cell-Free Nucleic Acids

SignificanceThe human placenta is a dynamic and cellular heterogeneous organ, which is critical in fetomaternal homeostasis and the development of preeclampsia. Previous work has shown that placenta-derived cell-free RNA increases during pregnancy. We applied large-scale microfluidic single-cell transcriptomic technology to comprehensively characterize cellular heterogeneity of the human placentas and identified multiple placental cell-type–specific gene signatures. Analysis of the cellular signature expression in maternal plasma enabled noninvasive delineation of the cellular dynamics of the placenta during pregnancy and the elucidation of extravillous trophoblastic dysfunction in early preeclampsia.