The lacrimal gland is essential for maintaining ocular surface health and avoiding external damage by secreting an aqueous layer of the tear film. However, a healthy lacrimal gland's inventory of cell types and heterogeneity remains understudied. Here 10X Genome-based single-cell RNA sequencing was used to generate an unbiased classification of cellular diversity in the extraorbital lacrimal gland (ELG) of C57BL/6J mice. From 43,850 high-quality cells, we produced an atlas of cell heterogeneity and defined cell types using classic marker genes. The possible functions of these cells were analyzed through bioinformatics analysis. Additionally, the CellChat was employed for a preliminary analysis of the cell-cell communication network in the ELG. Over 37 subclasses of cells were identified, including seven types of glandular epithelial cells, three types of fibroblasts, ten types of myeloid-derived immune cells, at least eleven types of lymphoid-derived immune cells, and five types of vascular-associated cell subsets. The cell-cell communication network analysis revealed that fibroblasts and immune cells play a pivotal role in the dense intercellular communication network within the mouse ELG. This study provides a comprehensive transcriptome atlas and related database of the mouse ELG.

中文翻译：

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单细胞RNA测序分析小鼠眶外泪腺的异质性和复杂性


泪腺对于维持眼表健康和通过分泌泪膜水层避免外部损伤至关重要。然而，健康泪腺的细胞类型和异质性库存仍未得到充分研究。这里使用基于 10X 基因组的单细胞 RNA 测序对 C57BL/6J 小鼠眶外泪腺 (ELG) 的细胞多样性进行公正的分类。我们从 43,850 个高质量细胞中制作了细胞异质性图谱，并使用经典标记基因定义了细胞类型。通过生物信息学分析分析这些细胞可能的功能。此外，CellChat 还用于对 ELG 中的细胞间通信网络进行初步分析。鉴定出超过 37 种细胞亚类，包括 7 种腺上皮细胞、3 种成纤维细胞、10 种骨髓源性免疫细胞、至少 11 种淋巴源性免疫细胞和 5 种血管相关细胞亚群。细胞间通讯网络分析表明，成纤维细胞和免疫细胞在小鼠 ELG 内密集的细胞间通讯网络中发挥着关键作用。本研究提供了小鼠 ELG 的综合转录组图谱和相关数据库。