Lecture

Characterizing Cell Types

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Description

This lecture focuses on characterizing and classifying cells into different types based on various modalities, such as molecular profiles, morphology, electrophysiology, and functional response properties. The instructor discusses the power of single-cell RNA sequencing and transcriptomics in identifying cell types and differences in function, emphasizing the importance of validating distinctions. The field is rapidly evolving, with new papers regularly emerging to classify cell types in different brain regions, making this data modality essential for neuroscience research.

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Related concepts (30)

Cell type

A cell type is a classification used to identify cells that share morphological or phenotypical features. A multicellular organism may contain cells of a number of widely differing and specialized cell types, such as muscle cells and skin cells, that differ both in appearance and function yet have identical genomic sequences. Cells may have the same genotype, but belong to different cell types due to the differential regulation of the genes they contain.

Gene expression profiling

In the field of molecular biology, gene expression profiling is the measurement of the activity (the expression) of thousands of genes at once, to create a global picture of cellular function. These profiles can, for example, distinguish between cells that are actively dividing, or show how the cells react to a particular treatment. Many experiments of this sort measure an entire genome simultaneously, that is, every gene present in a particular cell. Several transcriptomics technologies can be used to generate the necessary data to analyse.

Transcriptomics technologies

Transcriptomics technologies are the techniques used to study an organism's transcriptome, the sum of all of its RNA transcripts. The information content of an organism is recorded in the DNA of its genome and expressed through transcription. Here, mRNA serves as a transient intermediary molecule in the information network, whilst non-coding RNAs perform additional diverse functions. A transcriptome captures a snapshot in time of the total transcripts present in a cell.

Molecular diagnostics

Molecular diagnostics is a collection of techniques used to analyze biological markers in the genome and proteome, and how their cells express their genes as proteins, applying molecular biology to medical testing. In medicine the technique is used to diagnose and monitor disease, detect risk, and decide which therapies will work best for individual patients, and in agricultural biosecurity similarly to monitor crop- and livestock disease, estimate risk, and decide what quarantine measures must be taken.

Molecular biology

Molecular biology məˈlɛkjʊlər is the study of chemical and physical structure of biological macromolecules. It is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. Molecular biology was first described as an approach focused on the underpinnings of biological phenomena—uncovering the structures of biological molecules as well as their interactions, and how these interactions explain observations of classical biology.

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