Single-cell/nucleus transcriptomic and muscle pathologies

Recent years have seen a dramatic improvement in RNA and DNA sequencing technologies allowing the analysis of gene expression and chromatin conformation at the single-cell or nuclei level. This permitted to evidence that cells of the human brain may have different genomes, the different cell types living in a tumor or during its development, and many other biological features, promising significant future biomedical and clinical impacts. In this chapter, we will develop the concept of single-cell or nucleus RNA sequencing discussing methods and applications in the field of muscle pathologies. We will focus on all the three types of muscles: skeletal muscle is particularly important to sustain the body and regulate the metabolism, cardiac muscle is fundamental for blood movement within vessels and oxygen and nutrient distribution, and smooth muscle is involved in the maintenance of blood pressure and in the movement of the bolus within the intestine.