单细胞转录组分析评估的性别和衰老对免疫细胞图谱的影响。
Effects of sex and aging on the immune cell landscape as assessed by single-cell transcriptomic analysis.
机构信息
State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510060, China.
Department of Clinical Research Center, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510060, China.
出版信息
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Aug 17;118(33). doi: 10.1073/pnas.2023216118.
Sex and aging influence the human immune system, resulting in disparate responses to infection, autoimmunity, and cancer. However, the impact of sex and aging on the immune system is not yet fully elucidated. Using small conditional RNA sequencing, we found that females had a lower percentage of natural killer (NK) cells and a higher percentage of plasma cells in peripheral blood compared with males. Bioinformatics revealed that young females exhibited an overrepresentation of pathways that relate to T and B cell activation. Moreover, cell-cell communication analysis revealed evidence of increased activity of the BAFF/APRIL systems in females. Notably, aging increased the percentage of monocytes and reduced the percentage of naïve T cells in the blood and the number of differentially expressed genes between the sexes. Aged males expressed higher levels of inflammatory genes. Collectively, the results suggest that females have more plasma cells in the circulation and a stronger BAFF/APRIL system, which is consistent with a stronger adaptive immune response. In contrast, males have a higher percentage of NK cells in blood and a higher expression of certain proinflammatory genes. Overall, this work expands our knowledge of sex differences in the immune system in humans.
性别和年龄会影响人体的免疫系统,导致其对感染、自身免疫和癌症的反应存在差异。然而,性别和年龄对免疫系统的影响尚未被完全阐明。通过使用小条件 RNA 测序,我们发现与男性相比,女性外周血中的自然杀伤 (NK) 细胞比例较低,浆细胞比例较高。生物信息学分析显示,年轻女性表现出与 T 细胞和 B 细胞激活相关的途径过度表达。此外,细胞间通讯分析表明,女性体内 BAFF/APRIL 系统的活性增加。值得注意的是,衰老会增加血液中单核细胞的比例,减少幼稚 T 细胞的比例,并增加性别间差异表达基因的数量。衰老男性表达更高水平的炎症基因。总之,这些结果表明女性在循环中具有更多的浆细胞和更强的 BAFF/APRIL 系统,这与更强的适应性免疫反应一致。相比之下,男性血液中的 NK 细胞比例较高,某些促炎基因的表达水平较高。总的来说,这项工作扩展了我们对人类免疫系统中性别差异的认识。