鸡胚中单细胞转录组学提供的性腺性别分化的见解,Cell Reports

尽管性腺性别分化的遗传触发因物种而异，但长期以来认为性腺发育的细胞生物学在很大程度上是保守的。在这里，我们介绍性腺性别分化的全面分析，在性分化过程中使用单细胞测序在胚胎性腺中进行检测。数据表明，与其他脊椎动物相比，鸡的胚胎支持细胞不是来源于结肠上皮细胞。相反，它们来自DMRT1 + / PAX2 + / WNT4 + / OSR1 +间充质细胞群。我们发现性腺细胞类型比以前认为的复杂得多，包括在发育中的睾丸中识别两个不同的支持细胞亚群，以及从分化的支持细胞谱系衍生出类固醇胚细胞。总而言之，这些结果表明，正如性别的遗传触发因脊椎动物群体而异，性腺中的细胞谱系规格也可能有很大差异。

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Although the genetic triggers for gonadal sex differentiation vary across species, the cell biology of gonadal development was long thought to be largely conserved. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of gonadal sex differentiation, using single-cell sequencing in the embryonic chicken gonad during sexual differentiation. The data show that chicken embryonic-supporting cells do not derive from the coelomic epithelium, in contrast to other vertebrates studied. Instead, they derive from a DMRT1+/PAX2+/WNT4+/OSR1+ mesenchymal cell population. We find a greater complexity of gonadal cell types than previously thought, including the identification of two distinct sub-populations of Sertoli cells in developing testes and derivation of embryonic steroidogenic cells from a differentiated supporting-cell lineage. Altogether, these results indicate that, just as the genetic trigger for sex differs across vertebrate groups, cell lineage specification in the gonad may also vary substantially.