SCSMRD: A database for single-cell skeletal muscle regeneration

Abstract

Skeletal muscle regeneration is a complex process where various cell types and cytokines are involved. Single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) provides the opportunity to deconvolute heterogeneous tissue into individual cells based on their transcriptomic profiles. Recent scRNA-seq studies on mouse muscle regeneration have provided insights to understand the transcriptional dynamics that underpin muscle regeneration. However, a database to investigate gene expression profiling during skeletal muscle regeneration at the single-cell level is lacking. Here, we collected over 105,000 cells at seven key regenerative time-points and non-injured muscles and developed a database, the Single-cell Skeletal Muscle Regeneration Database (SCSMRD). SCSMRD allows users to search the dynamic expression profiles of genes of interest across different cell types during the skeletal muscle regeneration process. It also provides a network to show the activity of regulons in different cell types at different time points. Pesudotime analysis showed the state changes trajectory of muscle stem cells (MuSCs) during skeletal muscle regeneration. This database is freely available at https://scsmrd.fengs-lab.com.