title: The added value of single-cell gene expression profiling.
abstract: Cells are the basic unit of life and they have remarkable abilities to respond individually as well as in concert to internal and external stimuli in a specific manner. Studying complex tissues and whole organs requires understanding of cell heterogeneity and responses to stimuli at the single-cell level. In this review, we discuss the potential of single-cell gene expression profiling, focusing on data analysis and biological interpretation. We exemplify several aspects of the added value of single-cell analysis by comparing the same experimental data at both single-cell and cell population level. Data normalization and handling of missing data are two important steps in data analysis that are performed differently at single-cell level compared with cell population level. Furthermore, we discuss how single-cell gene expression data can be viewed and how subpopulations of cells can be identified and characterized.
authors: Department of Pathology, Sahlgrenska Cancer Center, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Box 425, 40530 Gothenburg, Sweden. anders.stahlberg@gu.se
authors: Anders
authors: A
authors: Ståhlberg
authors: Vendula
authors: V
authors: Rusnakova
authors: Mikael
authors: M
authors: Kubista
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012015:Reference Standards; D059010:Single-Cell Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D013223:Statistics as Topic
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger