Characterization of the human uterus using single cell RNAseq for mechanistic elucidation and clinical tool development
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Single cell RNAseq (scRNAseq) has been available to general laboratories for only a few years. The technology, however, has revolutionized our understanding of cellular hierarchies of primary tissues and advanced the completeness and accuracy of human transcriptomics. As one of the first generation researchers who were equipped with this technology, I spent my PhD evaluating methods to be incorporated into the scRNAseq pipeline as well as leveraging the resolution of scRNAseq to better understand biology and to create diagnostic and therapeutic tools for clinics. In the enclosing dissertation, you will first find my evaluation of a novel strategy for preserving primary tissue specimen, as we came to realize the importance of this seemingly trivial step in the entire scRNAseq pipeline for high fidelity and high quality data procurement. You will then see that I settled in the niche of female reproductive health to explore and utilize the analytical potential of scRNAseq, as I started to become aware of the unique complexity of the human uterus - which is unlike any other human organs and unparalleled by most animal models. I was able to delve deep into two processes in the human uterus, one physiologically normal (menstrual cycle) and the other pathological (uterine fibroids). In one project, I profiled the transcriptomic dynamics of the human endometrium across an entire menstrual cycle at single cell resolution, and captured the unique transcriptomic characteristics of the window of implantation (WOI), which points towards a simpler and more accurate diagnostics of WOI for embryo transfer in in vitro fertilization. In another project, I dissected the cellular hierarchy of uterine fibroids, a benign yet prevalent uterine tumor that inflicts women worldwide in their reproductive age with surgeries being the current gold standard for treatments. By comparing the cellular hierarchies of tumor and tumor-free tissues, I identified candidate cell states and markers that are unique to the tumor, which can be used to eliminate the tumor in a more direct and targeted manner. Through my PhD, I came to realize and was often challenged by the striking contrast between the importance of female reproductive health and our lack of understanding of the human uterus with molecular details, due to reasons including but not limited to cultural taboos, lack of scientific attentions, technological limitations, and a lack of systematic theoretical unification as well as stratification. The studies herein are therefore an enthusiastic, sincere and early attempt to facilitate the advance of this research domain in these various directions
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic resource; remote; computer; online resource |
| Extent | 1 online resource |
| Place | California |
| Place | [Stanford, California] |
| Publisher | [Stanford University] |
| Copyright date | 2020; ©2020 |
| Publication date | 2020; 2020 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Wang, Wanxin, (Researcher in bioengineering) |
|---|---|
| Degree supervisor | Quake, Stephen Ronald |
| Thesis advisor | Quake, Stephen Ronald |
| Thesis advisor | Camarillo, David |
| Thesis advisor | Wang, Bo, (Researcher in bioengineering) |
| Degree committee member | Camarillo, David |
| Degree committee member | Wang, Bo, (Researcher in bioengineering) |
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Bioengineering. |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|---|
| Genre | Text |
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Wanxin Wang |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Bioengineering |
| Thesis | Thesis Ph.D. Stanford University 2020 |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2020 by Wanxin Wang
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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