Single-cell RNA sequencing has established itself as one of the most important technologies for studying the transcriptome of individual cells at high resolution. One area where it is making a difference is in the understanding of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) loss in optic neuropathies like glaucoma. Effective strategies for retinal repair and regeneration in these cases are lacking in part because developmental programs required for cell differentiation and maturation are not fully understood. Recently, scientists successfully used cellular reprogramming to regenerate human RGC neurons that demonstrated transcriptional profiles and functional properties characteristic of healthy RGCs. Single-cell RNA sequencing played a pivotal role in confirming the identity of the reprogrammed cells and in revealing the diversity of RGC subtypes.
In the first presentation of this GEN webinar, our expert speaker will present results from the study and how they generated RGC-like induced neurons in under a week by combining the pioneer factor NEUROG2 with RGC-specific TFs, and pre-patterning cells via BMP inhibition. During the webinar, you’ll learn how the particle-templated instant partition sequencing (PIP-seq) technology from Illumina was crucial for identifying and classifying over 30 RGC subtypes. In the second presentation, you’ll hear the results from a third-party case study that compared the performance of Illumina Single Cell with the newest 10X Genomics assay on two different cell types.