Spatial and single-cell transcriptome analysis reveals changes in gene expression in response to drug perturbation in rat kidney

The kidney is a complex organ that consists of various types of cells. It is occasionally difficult to resolve molecular alterations and possible perturbations that the kidney experiences due to drug-induced damage. In this study, we performed spatial and single-cell transcriptome analysis of rat kidneys and constructed a precise rat renal cell atlas with spatial information. Using the constructed catalogue, we were able to characterize cells of several minor populations, such as macula densa or juxtaglomerular cells. Further inspection of the spatial gene expression data allowed us to identify the upregulation of genes involved in the renin regulating pathway in losartan-treated populations. Losartan is an angiotensin II receptor antagonist drug, and the observed upregulation of the renin pathway-related genes could be due to feedback from the hypotensive action of the drug. Furthermore, we found spatial heterogeneity in the response to losartan among the glomeruli. These results collectively indicate that integrated single-cell and spatial gene expression analysis is a powerful approach to reveal the detailed associations between the different cell types spanning the complicated renal compartments.