Zhang Zhizhi, Zhang Liwei, Chen Baihua
Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, Hunan, China.
Hunan Clinical Research Center of Ophthalmic Disease, Changsha, 410011, Hunan, China.
Eur J Med Res. 2025 Apr 28;30(1):338. doi: 10.1186/s40001-025-02607-2.
Increasing evidence indicated that T cells have significant effects in dry eye disease (DED). However, the regulatory role of T cells in DED remains unclear.
In this study, we examined immune responses throughout the progression in murine DED model. Using cytometry by time-of-flight (CyTOF) and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), we observed dynamic alterations in the proportions of immune cell landscape. Pseudotime trajectory and cell-cell communication analyses further illustrated T-cell differentiation and interaction networks.
CD4 and CD8 T cells exhibited an initial decline on Day 3 (D3) and followed by a recovery on Day 7 (D7). Single-cell transcriptomics provided insights into 15 distinct subsets of T cells with heterogeneous functional states. Pseudotime trajectory analysis demonstrated coordinated differentiation patterns of CD4 and CD8 T cells, indicating their collaborative involvement in the inflammatory process.
Our results clarify the dynamics of the adaptive immune response in DED and indicate that targeting T cells may serve as a promising immune-modulatory approach in the treatment of DED model.
越来越多的证据表明，T细胞在干眼病（DED）中具有显著作用。然而，T细胞在DED中的调节作用仍不清楚。
在本研究中，我们在小鼠DED模型的整个病程中检测了免疫反应。使用飞行时间细胞计数法（CyTOF）和单细胞RNA测序（scRNA-seq），我们观察了免疫细胞图谱比例的动态变化。伪时间轨迹和细胞间通讯分析进一步阐明了T细胞分化和相互作用网络。
CD4和CD8 T细胞在第3天（D3）最初出现下降，随后在第7天（D7）恢复。单细胞转录组学揭示了15个具有不同功能状态的T细胞亚群。伪时间轨迹分析显示了CD4和CD8 T细胞的协同分化模式，表明它们共同参与炎症过程。
我们的结果阐明了DED中适应性免疫反应的动态变化，并表明靶向T细胞可能是治疗DED模型的一种有前景的免疫调节方法。
