Peripheral nerves connect central nerves with target tissues and organs and execute vital signal transduction functions. Although sub‐types of neurons have been defined, the heterogeneity of cell populations in peripheral nerves, especially Schwann cells, has not been well demonstrated. Here, we collected sciatic nerves (SN) and dorsal root ganglia (DRG) from neonatal (1‐day old) rats and classified cell populations by high‐coverage single‐cell sequencing. A total of 10 types of cells, including endothelial cells, erythrocytes, fibroblasts, monocytic cells, neurons, neutrophils, pericytes, satellite cells, Schwann cells, and vascular smooth muscle cells, were identified by transcriptome‐based cell typing. The comparisons of cells in neonatal rat SN and DRG revealed distinct atlas in different tissue localizations. Investigations of ligand‐receptor interactions showed that there existed direct cell–cell communications between endothelial cells and fibroblasts in SN and among endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and vascular smooth muscle cells in DRG. Schwann cells in neonatal rats were further sub‐grouped to four sub‐types, including LOC100134871 and Hbb expressing Schwann cell sub‐type 1, Cldn19 and Emid1 expressing Schwann cell sub‐type 2, Timp3 and Col5a3 expressing Schwann cell sub‐type 3, and Cenpf and Mki67 expressing Schwann cell sub‐type 4. These Schwann cell sub‐types exhibited distinct genetic features and functional enrichments. Collectively, our results illustrated the diversity and cellular complexity of peripheral nerves at the neonatal stage and revealed the heterogeneity of Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system.

中文翻译：

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单细胞转录组学鉴定新生大鼠周围神经细胞群

周围神经将中枢神经与靶组织和器官连接起来，执行重要的信号传导功能。尽管已经定义了神经元的亚型，但周围神经中细胞群的异质性，尤其是雪旺细胞，尚未得到很好的证明。在这里，我们收集了新生（1 日龄）大鼠的坐骨神经 (SN) 和背根神经节 (DRG)，并通过高覆盖率单细胞测序对细胞群进行分类。通过基于转录组的细胞分型，共鉴定出 10 种细胞，包括内皮细胞、红细胞、成纤维细胞、单核细胞、神经元、中性粒细胞、周细胞、卫星细胞、雪旺细胞和血管平滑肌细胞。新生大鼠 SN 和 DRG 中细胞的比较揭示了不同组织定位的不同图谱。对配体-受体相互作用的研究表明，SN 中的内皮细胞和成纤维细胞之间以及 DRG 中的内皮细胞、成纤维细胞和血管平滑肌细胞之间存在直接的细胞间通讯。新生大鼠的雪旺细胞进一步分为四种亚型，包括 LOC100134871 和 Hbb 表达雪旺细胞亚型 1，Cldn19 和 Emid1 表达雪旺细胞亚型 2，Timp3 和 Col5a3 表达雪旺细胞亚型 3，和 Cenpf 和 Mki67 表达雪旺细胞亚型 4。这些雪旺细胞亚型表现出不同的遗传特征和功能富集。总的来说，我们的结果说明了新生儿阶段周围神经的多样性和细胞复杂性，并揭示了周围神经系统中雪旺细胞的异质性。