Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science (대한임상검사과학회지)

Korean Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (대한임상검사과학회)
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The Workflow for Computational Analysis of Single-cell RNA-sequencing Data

단일 세포 RNA 시퀀싱 데이터에 대한 컴퓨터 분석의 작업과정

  • Sung-Hun WOO (Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, College of Software and Digital Healthcare Convergence, Yonsei University) ;
  • Byung Chul JUNG (Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology, University of California)
  • 우성훈 (연세대학교 소프트웨어디지털헬스케어융합대학 임상병리학과) ;
  • 정병출 (캘리포니아대학교 버클리캠퍼스 영양과학 및 독성학과)
  • Received : 2024.01.01
  • Accepted : 2024.02.02
  • Published : 2024.03.31
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Abstract

RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) is a technique used for providing global patterns of transcriptomes in samples. However, it can only provide the average gene expression across cells and does not address the heterogeneity within the samples. The advances in single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technology have revolutionized our understanding of heterogeneity and the dynamics of gene expression at the single-cell level. For example, scRNA-seq allows us to identify the cell types in complex tissues, which can provide information regarding the alteration of the cell population by perturbations, such as genetic modification. Since its initial introduction, scRNA-seq has rapidly become popular, leading to the development of a huge number of bioinformatic tools. However, the analysis of the big dataset generated from scRNA-seq requires a general understanding of the preprocessing of the dataset and a variety of analytical techniques. Here, we present an overview of the workflow involved in analyzing the scRNA-seq dataset. First, we describe the preprocessing of the dataset, including quality control, normalization, and dimensionality reduction. Then, we introduce the downstream analysis provided with the most commonly used computational packages. This review aims to provide a workflow guideline for new researchers interested in this field.

RNA-시퀀싱은 표본에 대한 전사체 전체의 패턴을 제공하는 기법이다. 그러나 RNA-시퀀싱은 표본 내 전체 세포에 대한 평균 유전자 발현만 제공할 수 있으며, 표본 내의 이질성(heterogeneity)에 대한 정보는 제공하지 못한다. 단일 세포 RNA-시퀀싱 기술의 발전을 통해 우리는 표본의 단일 세포 수준에서 이질성과 유전자 발현의 동역학(dynamics)에 대한 이해를 할 수 있게 되었다. 예를 들어, 우리는 단일 세포 RNA-시퀀싱을 통해 복잡한 조직을 구성하는 다양한 세포 유형을 식별할 수 있으며, 특정 세포 유형의 유전자 발현 변화와 같은 정보를 알 수 있다. 단일 세포 RNA-시퀀싱은 처음 도입된 이후 많은 이들의 관심을 끌게 되었으며, 이를 활용하기 위한 대규모 생물정보학(bioinformatics) 도구가 개발되었다. 그러나 단일 세포 RNA-시퀀싱에서 생성된 빅데이터 분석에는 데이터 전처리에 대한 이해와 전처리 이후 다양한 분석 기술에 대한 이해가 필요하다. 본 종설에서는 단일 세포 RNA-시퀀싱 데이터분석과 관련된 작업과정의 개요를 제시한다. 먼저 데이터의 품질 관리, 정규화 및 차원 감소와 같은 데이터의 전 처리 과정에 대해 설명한다. 그 이후, 가장 일반적으로 사용되는 생물정보학 도구를 활용한 데이터의 후속 분석에 대해 설명한다. 본 종설은 이 분야에 관심이 있는 새로운 연구자를 위한 가이드라인을 제공하는 것을 목표로 한다.

Keywords

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