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Single-cell transcriptomic data reveal the increase in extracellular matrix organization and antigen presentation abilities of fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells in patients with pelvic organ prolapse

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Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis

We aimed to explore the cellular properties of fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells (SMCs), the two major cell types of the vagina wall, in pelvic organ prolapse (POP) to improve the knowledge of the underlying molecular mechanisms of POP.

Methods

The single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) profile GSE151202 was downloaded from NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus, in which vaginal wall tissues were harvested from patients with anterior vaginal wall prolapse and control subjects respectively. The scRNA-seq data of samples (5 POP and 5 controls) were adopted for analysis. Cluster analysis was performed to identify the cell subclusters. Trajectory analysis was applied to construct the differentiation trajectories of fibroblasts and SMCs. Cellular communication analysis was carried out to explore the ligand–receptor interactions between fibroblasts/SMCs and immune cells.

Results

Ten subclusters were determined in both groups, among which fibroblasts and SMCs were the most abundant cell types. Compared with controls, fibroblasts increased whereas SMCs declined in POP. During the transition of fibroblasts and SMCs from a normal into a disease state, extracellular matrix organization and antigen presentation were heightened. The intercellular communications were altered in POP. Interactions between fibroblasts/SMCs and macrophages/natural killer/T cells were strengthened as more ligand–receptor pairs involved in antigen presentation pathways were gained in POP.

Conclusion

Extracellular matrix organization and antigen presentation abilities of fibroblasts and SMCs were enhanced in POP.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Funding: The project was supported by Natural Science Research Funds of Minhang District, Shanghai ( No.2022MHZ034).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gynecology, Shanghai Fifth People’s Hospital, Fudan University, No. 801, He Qing Road, Minhang District, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Weimin Fan, Duanqing Wu, Liwen Zhang, Jun Ye, Junhua Guan, Ying Yang, Xiaohui Mei & Rujun Chen

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  1. Weimin Fan
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  2. Duanqing Wu
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  7. Xiaohui Mei
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Contributions

Weimin Fan and DuanQing Wu: concepts, manuscript preparation, manuscript review; Liwen Zhang and Jun Ye: design, data acquisition; Junhua Guan and Ying Yang: data acquisition, data analysis; Xiaohui Mei and Rujun Chen: manuscript editing, manuscript review.

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Correspondence to Xiaohui Mei or Rujun Chen.

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Weimin Fan and Duanqing Wu should be regarded as co-first authors.

Xiaohui Mei and Rujun Chen are co-corresponding authors.

Supplementary information

Figure S1

Violin plots of marker gene expression across ten cell types. (PNG 362 kb)

High-resolution image (TIF 1032 kb)

Figure S2

Gene ontology biological processes enriched by differentially expressed genes in six fibroblast subclusters. (PNG 504 kb)

High-resolution image (TIF 1864 kb)

Table S1 (TIF 60.2 kb)

Table S2 (TIF 69.6 kb)

Table S3 (TIF 67.8 kb)

Table S4 (TIF 42.1 kb)

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Fan, W., Wu, D., Zhang, L. et al. Single-cell transcriptomic data reveal the increase in extracellular matrix organization and antigen presentation abilities of fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells in patients with pelvic organ prolapse. Int Urogynecol J 34, 2529–2537 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-023-05539-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-023-05539-9

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