Vector Biology Unit, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
Genomics Core Facility, European Molecular Biology Laboratories, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Aug 7;115(32):E7568-E7577. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1803062115. Epub 2018 Jul 23.
Mosquito blood cells are immune cells that help control infection by vector-borne pathogens. Despite their importance, little is known about mosquito blood cell biology beyond morphological and functional criteria used for their classification. Here, we combined the power of single-cell RNA sequencing, high-content imaging flow cytometry, and single-molecule RNA hybridization to analyze a subset of blood cells of the malaria mosquito By demonstrating that blood cells express nearly half of the mosquito transcriptome, our dataset represents an unprecedented view into their transcriptional program. Analyses of differentially expressed genes identified transcriptional signatures of two cell types and provide insights into the current classification of these cells. We further demonstrate the active transfer of a cellular marker between blood cells that may confound their identification. We propose that cell-to-cell exchange may contribute to cellular diversity and functional plasticity seen across biological systems.
蚊子血细胞是免疫细胞，有助于控制通过媒介传播的病原体感染。尽管它们很重要，但除了用于分类的形态学和功能标准外，对蚊子血细胞生物学的了解甚少。在这里，我们结合单细胞 RNA 测序、高内涵成像流式细胞术和单分子 RNA 杂交的力量，分析了疟蚊的一部分血细胞。通过证明血细胞表达了近一半的蚊子转录组，我们的数据集代表了对其转录程序的前所未有的了解。差异表达基因的分析确定了两种细胞类型的转录特征，并深入了解了这些细胞的当前分类。我们进一步证明了血细胞之间细胞标记物的主动转移，这可能会混淆它们的鉴定。我们提出，细胞间的交换可能有助于生物系统中所见的细胞多样性和功能可塑性。
