Single-cell Transcriptome Landscape of DNA Methylome Regulators Associated with Orofacial Clefts in the Mouse Dental Pulp.

Objective: Significant evidence links epigenetic processes governing the dynamics of DNA methylation and demethylation to an increased risk of syndromic and nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or cleft palate (CL/P). Previously, we characterized mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) at different stages of osteogenic differentiation in the mouse incisor dental pulp. The main objective of this research was to characterize the transcriptional landscape of regulatory genes associated with DNA methylation and demethylation at a single-cell resolution.

Design: We used single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data to characterize transcriptome in individual subpopulations of MSCs in the mouse incisor dental pulp.

Settings: The biomedical research institution.

Patients/participants: This study did not include patients.

Interventions: This study collected and analyzed data on the single-cell RNA expssion in the mouse incisor dental pulp.

Main outcome measure(s): Molecular regulators of DNA methylation/demethylation exhibit differential transcriptional landscape in different subpopulations of osteogenic progenitor cells.

Results: scRNA-seq analysis revealed that genes encoding DNA methylation and demethylation enzymes (DNA methyltransferases and members of the ten-eleven translocation family of methylcytosine dioxygenases), methyl-DNA binding domain proteins, as well as transcription factors and chromatin remodeling proteins that cooperate with DNA methylation machinery are differentially expressed within distinct subpopulations of MSCs that undergo different stages of osteogenic differentiation.

Conclusions: These findings suggest some mechanistic insights into a potential link between epigenetic alterations and multifactorial causes of CL/P phenotypes.