Single-cell transcriptome atlas in C57BL/6 mice encodes morphological phenotypes in the aging kidneys

Abstract

C57BL/6 mice are frequently utilized as murine models with the desired genetic background for altertion in multiple research contexts. So far, there is still a lack of comprehensive kidney morphology and single-cell transcriptome atlas at all stages of growth of C57BL/6 mice. To provide an interactive set of reference standards for the scientific community, we performed the current study to investigate the kidney’s development throughout the capillary-loop stage until senescence. Eight groups, with five to six mice each, represented embryonic stage (embryos 18.5 days), suckling period (1 day after birth), juvenile stage (1 month old), adulthood (containing 3 months old, 6 months old and 10 months old), reproductive senescence stage (20 months old), and post-senescence stage (30 months old), respectively. With age, the thickness of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) was increased. Notably, GBM knobs appeared at three months and became frequent with age. Using single-cell transcriptome data, we evaluated how various biological process appear in particular cell types and investigated the potential mechanism of formation of GBM konbs. In conclusion, having access to detailed kidney morphology and single-cell transcriptome maps from C57BL/6 mice at various developmental stages of C57BL/6 mice would be a novel and major resource for biological research and testing of prospective therapeutic approaches.