Single Cell Isolation and Analysis.
Individual cell heterogeneity within a population can be critical to its peculiar function and fate. Subpopulations studies with mixed mutants and wild types may not be as informative regarding which cell responds to which drugs or clinical treatments. Cell to cell differences in RNA transcripts and protein expression can be key to answering questions in cancer, neurobiology, stem cell biology, immunology, and developmental biology. Conventional cell-based assays mainly analyze the average responses from a population of cells, without regarding individual cell phenotypes. To better understand the variations from cell to cell, scientists need to use single cell analyses to provide more detailed information for therapeutic decision making in precision medicine. In this review, we focus on the recent developments in single cell isolation and analysis, which include technologies, analyses and main applications. Here, we summarize the historical background, limitations, applications, and potential of single cell isolation technologies.
The Center for Biotechnology and Biopharmaceutics, Institute of Translational Medicine, Nanchang University Nanchang, China.
Ping
P
Hu
Laboratory of Fear and Anxiety Disorders, Institute of Life Science, Nanchang University Nanchang, China.
Wenhua
W
Zhang
The Center for Biotechnology and Biopharmaceutics, Institute of Translational Medicine, Nanchang University Nanchang, China.
Hongbo
H
Xin
The Center for Biotechnology and Biopharmaceutics, Institute of Translational Medicine, Nanchang UniversityNanchang, China; Yichang Research Center for Biomedical Industry and Central Laboratory of Yichang Central Hospital, Medical School, China Three Gorges UniversityYichang, China; Division of Surgical Oncology, Stanford University School of MedicineStanford, CA, USA.
Glenn
G
Deng
analysis; heterogeneity; isolation; sequencing; single cell