Single cell transcriptomics of pluripotent stem cells: reprogramming and differentiation

Single-cell transcriptomics serves as a powerful tool to identify cell states within populations of cells, and to dissect underlying heterogeneity at high resolution. Single-cell transcriptomics on pluripotent stem cells has provided new insights into cellular variation, subpopulation structures and the interplay of cell cycle with pluripotency. The single-cell perspective has helped to better understand gene regulation and regulatory networks during exit from pluripotency, cell-fate determination as well as molecular mechanisms driving cellular reprogramming of somatic cells to induced pluripotent stage. Here we review the recent progress and significant findings from application of single-cell technologies on pluripotent stem cells along with a brief outlook on new combinatorial single-cell approaches that further unravel pluripotent stem cell states.