Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding, and Reproduction of Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
Cells. 2024 Apr 16;13(8):692. doi: 10.3390/cells13080692.
Pigs are the most important source of meat and valuable biomedical models. However, the porcine immune system, especially the heterogeneity of CD8 T cell subtypes, has not been fully characterized. Here, using single-cell RNA sequencing, we identified 14 major cell types from peripheral blood circulating cells of pigs and observed remarkable heterogeneity among CD8 T cell types. Upon re-clustering of CD8 T cells, we defined four CD8 T cell subtypes and revealed their potential differentiation trajectories and transcriptomic differences among them. Additionally, we identified transcription factors with potential regulatory roles in maintaining CD8 T cell differentiation. The cell-cell communication analysis inferred an extensive interaction between CD8 T cells and other immune cells. Finally, cross-species analysis further identified species-specific and conserved cell types across different species. Overall, our study provides the first insight into the extensive functional heterogeneity and state transitions among porcine CD8 T cell subtypes in pig peripheral blood, complements the knowledge of porcine immunity, and enhances its potential as a biomedical model.
猪是最重要的肉类来源和有价值的生物医学模型。然而，猪的免疫系统，特别是 CD8 T 细胞亚群的异质性，尚未得到充分描述。在这里，我们使用单细胞 RNA 测序技术，从猪外周血循环细胞中鉴定出 14 种主要细胞类型，并观察到 CD8 T 细胞类型之间存在显著的异质性。对 CD8 T 细胞进行再聚类后，我们定义了四种 CD8 T 细胞亚群，并揭示了它们潜在的分化轨迹和转录组差异。此外，我们还鉴定出了在维持 CD8 T 细胞分化中具有潜在调节作用的转录因子。细胞间通讯分析推断出 CD8 T 细胞与其他免疫细胞之间存在广泛的相互作用。最后，跨物种分析进一步鉴定出不同物种之间具有物种特异性和保守性的细胞类型。总的来说，我们的研究首次揭示了猪外周血 CD8 T 细胞亚群之间广泛的功能异质性和状态转换，补充了猪免疫方面的知识，并增强了其作为生物医学模型的潜力。
