
doi: 10.3791/62901 , 10.3791/62901-v
pmid: 34605813
The kidneys regulate diverse biological processes such as water, electrolyte, and acid-base homeostasis. Physiological functions of the kidney are executed by multiple cell types arranged in a complex architecture across the corticomedullary axis of the organ. Recent advances in single-cell transcriptomics have accelerated the understanding of cell type-specific gene expression in renal physiology and disease. However, enzyme-based tissue dissociation protocols, which are frequently utilized for single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq), require mostly fresh (non-archived) tissue, introduce transcriptional stress responses, and favor the selection of abundant cell types of the kidney cortex resulting in an underrepresentation of cells of the medulla. Here, we present a protocol that avoids these problems. The protocol is based on nuclei isolation at 4 °C from frozen kidney tissue. Nuclei are isolated from a central piece of the mouse kidney comprised of the cortex, outer medulla, and inner medulla. This reduces the overrepresentation of cortical cells typical for whole-kidney samples for the benefit of medullary cells such that data will represent the entire corticomedullary axis at sufficient abundance. The protocol is simple, rapid, and adaptable and provides a step towards the standardization of single-nuclei transcriptomics in kidney research.
Cell Nucleus, Sequence Analysis, RNA, Kidney, Mice, Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases, Integrative Biomedicine [Topic 3], Animals, RNA, Technology Platforms, Genes, Cells and Cell-Based Medicine [Topic 1], Transcriptome
Cell Nucleus, Sequence Analysis, RNA, Kidney, Mice, Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases, Integrative Biomedicine [Topic 3], Animals, RNA, Technology Platforms, Genes, Cells and Cell-Based Medicine [Topic 1], Transcriptome
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