A team led by Dijun Chen and Yang Sun from the School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, in collaboration with the team of Yi-Cheng Xie from Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, has constructed a reference map of the single-cell transcriptome and regulatoryome of crab-eating monkeys, a commonly used non-human primate model in biomedical research. The researchers used single-cell sequencing to map 16 organs of the monkeys and identified over 40 different cell subgroups with 17 major cell types. The results provide insights into the differences in gene expression between monkeys and humans, which can aid in the development of animal models for human diseases. The research was published in Nature Communications in July 2022, and an interactive website (https://biobigdata.nju.edu.cn/MonkeyAtlas/) was created to explore the scRNA-seq data.
Figure 1. Construction and analysis of a reference atlas of single cell multi-omics in multiple organs of crab-eating monkeys. (a) Experimental design; (b-c) Cell type identification; (d-e) Integration and consistency analysis of two types of histological data.
The single-cell transcriptome and regulatoryome reference map of non-human primates, such as the crab-eating monkey, is of great value for biomedical research and drug development. This reference map provides a comprehensive understanding of the cellular composition, organ heterogeneity, and gene expression patterns of multiple organs in crab-eating monkeys. The study identified new cell types, key regulators of gene expression, and different cellular differentiation and interaction patterns, which can aid in the development of appropriate animal models for complex diseases.
Moreover, the cross-species comparative analysis revealed high similarity in cellular composition, gene expression patterns, and cellular interactions among crab-eating monkeys, mouse and humans. This finding suggests that crab-eating monkeys can be used as an ideal model for studying complex diseases and can provide guidance for selecting appropriate animal models for preclinical drug development.
Figure 2. Comparative analysis of multi-species single-cell profiles. (a) Species and organs used for comparative analysis; (b-c) Multi-species single-cell transcriptome integration analysis; (d) Comparative cell composition; (e-f) Comparative analysis of cell type-specific gene expression patterns.
In conclusion, the single-cell transcriptome and regulatoryome reference map of non-human primates, such as the crab-eating monkey, is an important resource for biomedical research and drug development. The findings from this study provide new insights into the cellular composition, organ heterogeneity, and gene expression patterns of multiple organs in crab-eating monkeys and offer a foundation for further research on non-human primates as animal models.
Reference: Qu, J., Yang, F., Zhu, T. et al. A reference single-cell regulomic and transcriptomic map of cynomolgus monkeys. Nat Commun 13, 4069 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31770-x