Development and characterization of a mass cytometry panel for detecting the effect of acute doxorubicin exposure on murine cardiac nonmyocytes

Childhood cancer survivors (CCSs) face lifelong side effects related to their treatment with chemotherapy. Anthracycline agents, such as doxorubicin (DOX), are important in the treatment of childhood cancers but are associated with cardiotoxicity. Cardiac toxicities represent a significant source of chronic disability that cancer survivors face; despite this, the chronic cardiotoxicity phenotype and how it relates to acute toxicity remains poorly defined. To address this critical knowledge gap, we studied the acute effect of DOX on murine cardiac nonmyocytes in vivo. Determination of the acute cellular effects of DOX on nonmyocytes, a cell pool with finite replicative capacity, provides a basis for understanding the pathogenesis of the chronic heart disease that CCSs face. To investigate the acute cellular effects of DOX, we present single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) data from homeostatic cardiac nonmyocytes and compare it with preexisting datasets, as well as a novel CyTOF datasets. SCANPY, a python-based single-cell analysis, was used to assess the heterogeneity of cells detected in scRNAseq and CyTOF. To further assist in CyTOF data annotation, joint analyses of scRNAseq and CyTOF data using an artificial neural network known as sparse autoencoder for clustering, imputation, and embedding (SAUCIE) are performed. Lastly, the panel is tested on a mouse model of acute DOX exposure at two time points (24 and 72 h) after the last dose of doxorubicin and examined with joint clustering. In sum, we report the first ever CyTOF study of cardiac nonmyocytes and characterize the effect of acute DOX exposure with scRNAseq and CyTOF. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We describe the first mass cytometry studies of murine cardiac nonmyocytes. The mass cytometry panel is compared with single-cell RNA sequencing data. Homeostatic cardiac nonmyocytes are characterized by mass cytometry to identify and quantify four major cell populations: endothelial cells, fibroblasts, leukocytes, and pericytes. The single-cell acute nonmyocyte response to doxorubicin is studied at 24 and 72 h after doxorubicin exposure given daily for 5 days at a dose of 4 mg/kg/day.