A versatile and efficient method to isolate nuclei from low-input cryopreserved tissues for single-nuclei transcriptomics
Clinical samples are vital for understanding diseases, but their scarcity requires refined research methods. Emerging single-cell technologies offer detailed views of tissue heterogeneity but need sufficient fully characterized tissues. We developed an optimized single-nuclei RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) protocol to extract nuclei from just 15 mg of cryopreserved human tissue. Applied to four cancer tissues (brain, bladder, lung, prostate), it profiled 1550-7468 nuclei per tissue, revealing heterogeneity comparable to public single-cell atlases. This method enhances the use and sharing of rare, cryopreserved biospecimens, supporting research where sample quantity is limited and full tissue characterization is needed.
Authors
- Myreille D’Astous (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6678-5483)
- Cristopher Segovia
- Vincent Fradet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4714-1818)
- Victoria Saavedra Armero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8704-4086)
- Alain Bergeron (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2875-0773)
- Fatemeh Khadangi
- Gabriel Khelifi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8973-7345)
- Steve Bilodeau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9799-3832)
- Maxime Richer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4356-0326)
- Yves Fradet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7581-2500)
- Yohan Bossé (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3067-3711)
- Karine Robitaille
- Samer M. I. Hussein (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8504-3370)
- Vincent Desrosiers
Institutions
- Hôtel-Dieu de Québec (CA)
- Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec (CA)
- Centre hospitalier de l'Université Laval (CA)
- Université Laval (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Scientific Reports
- Published
- 2025-02-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-90070-8
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.61
Funders
- Université Laval
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada