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Review
. 2015 Mar 10:5:53.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2015.00053. eCollection 2015.

Single cell transcriptomics: methods and applications

Itamar Kanter  1 , Tomer Kalisky  1
Affiliations
Review

Single cell transcriptomics: methods and applications

Itamar Kanter et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

Traditionally, gene expression measurements were performed on "bulk" samples containing populations of thousands of cells. Recent advances in genomic technology have made it possible to measure gene expression in hundreds of individual cells at a time. As a result, cellular properties that were previously masked in "bulk" measurements can now be observed directly. In this review, we will survey emerging technologies for single cell transcriptomics, and describe how they are used to study complex disease such as cancer, as well as other biological phenomena such as tissue regeneration, embryonic development, and immune response.

Keywords: FISH; RNA sequencing; gene expression; qPCR; single cell.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A sketch of three methods for measuring single cell gene expression that were described in this manuscript: mRNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (mRNA–FISH), single cell qPCR, and single cell RNA sequencing.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Each crypt in the mammalian small intestine or colon is an independently regenerating unit. The stem cells reside at the bottom and their progeny migrate upwards as they proliferate and differentiate. In the colon, there are two main cell lineages: absorptive enterocytes and secretory goblet cells.
Figure 3
Figure 3
A sketch of the early stages of mammalian embryonic development starting from zygote, through morula (8–16 cells), to blastocyst (32–64 cells). TE, trophectoderm; ICM, inner cell mass; PE, primitive endoderm; EPI, epiblast (53).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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