Citation
Xu Manhong, Li Xiaorong. Advances in single-cell RNA sequencing in retinal development and disease initiation and progression[J].Chin J Exp Ophthalmol, 2025, 43(6):571-576. DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.cn115989-20221028-00499.
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ABSTRACT
Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) is an unbiased, high-throughput, and high-resolution transcriptome analysis method at the single-cell level.Unlike ordinary transcriptome sequencing, which study the average gene expression of all cells in tissues, scRNA-seq maps RNA to individual cells, which can be used to discover new cell types, reveal cell heterogeneity, and identify rare cells.Recently, more and more researches on scRNA-seq have focused on ophthalmology.This technology is expected to reveal the complex developmental biological processes of the retina and the pathogenesis of diseases, providing guidance for the clinical treatment of ophthalmology.This article briefly introduces the development and technical process of scRNA-seq, describes the identification of various retinal cell subtypes, the retinal cell development, and the application of retinal organoids in detail.This article systematically summarizes the latest research progress on scRNA-seq in the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of retinal diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration, which mainly focuses on changes in cell-specific molecules and regulatory pathways in the occurrence and development of diseases, which will be helpful to search for potential new treatment targets for retinal diseases.