Differential Gene Expression in Muscle Cells
The goal is to identify molecular and cellular alterations present in ME/CFS skeletal muscle through innovative approaches that capture the transcriptome and epigenome with single-cell and spatial resolution in human biopsies.
Using single nuclei isolated from muscle biopsies, the genes expressed in each cell, as well as the configuration of chromosomes in each cell, will be determined. Gene expression information will also be obtained from small regions of cross-sections (slices) of muscle tissue through spatial transcriptomics. All of this information will be used to determine whether specific types of muscle-resident cells are dysregulated at the transcriptional and epigenetic levels in ME/CFS subjects compared with controls.
McKellar, D.W., Mantri, M., Hinchman, M.M. et al. (2022). Spatial mapping of the total transcriptome by in situ polyadenylation.
This NIH-funded project (U54AI178855) is led by Dr. Ben Cosgrove, who collaborates closely with Dr. Iwijn De Vlaminck. Both are faculty members in the Cornell Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering. Molecular data analysis also occurs through a collaboration with Dr. Jen Grenier, Genomics Core Lead and head of the Cornell Genomics Innovation Hub.