RNA-seq of CD4 CD8 lineage differentiation in the mouse thymus
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE154670 | GEO | 2020/10/25
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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Project description:CD4 and CD8 mark helper and cytotoxic T cell lineages, respectively, and serve as coreceptors for MHC-restricted TCR recognition. How coreceptor expression is matched with TCR specificity is central to understanding CD4/CD8 lineage choice, but visualising coreceptor gene activity in individual selection intermediates has been technically challenging. It therefore remains unclear whether the sequence of coreceptor gene expression in selection intermediates follows a stereotypic pattern, or is responsive to signaling. Here we use single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to classify mouse thymocyte selection intermediates by coreceptor gene expression. In the unperturbed thymus, Cd4+Cd8a- selection intermediates appear before Cd4-Cd8a+ selection intermediates, but the timing of these subsets is flexible according to the strength of TCR signals. Our data show that selection intermediates discriminate MHC class prior to the loss of coreceptor expression and suggest a model where signal strength informs the timing of coreceptor gene activity and ultimately CD4/CD8 lineage choice.
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Project description:CD4 and CD8 T cells are vital components of the immune system. We found that histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) is critical for the development of CD4 T cells, as HDAC3-deficient DP thymocytes generate only CD8SP thymocytes in mice. In the absence of HDAC3, MHC Class II-restricted OT-II thymocytes are redirected to the CD8 cytotoxic lineage, which occurs with accelerated kinetics. Analysis of histone acetylation and RNA-seq reveals that HDAC3-deficient DP thymocytes are biased towards the CD8 lineage prior to positive selection. Commitment to the CD4 or CD8 lineage is determined by whether persistent TCR signaling or cytokine signaling predominates, respectively. Despite elevated IL-21R/γc/STAT5 signaling in HDAC3-deficient DP thymocytes, blocking IL-21R does not restore CD4 lineage commitment. Instead, HDAC3 binds directly to CD8-lineage promoting genes. Thus, HDAC3 is required to restrain CD8-lineage genes in DP thymocytes for the generation of CD4 T cells.
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Project description:scRNA-seq of mouse thymocyte CD4 CD8 lineage choice and differentiation
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Project description:T cell antigen receptor (TCR) signaling in the thymus initiates positive selection, but the CD8+-lineage fate is thought to be induced by cytokines after TCR signaling has ceased, although this remains controversial and unproven. We have identified four cytokines (IL-6, IFN-γ, TSLP and TGF-β) that did not signal via the common γ-chain (γc) receptor but that, like IL-7 and IL-15, induced expression of the lineage-specifying transcription factor Runx3d and signaled the generation of CD8+ T cells. Elimination of in vivo signaling by all six of these 'lineage-specifying cytokines' during positive selection eliminated Runx3d expression and completely abolished the generation of CD8+ single-positive thymocytes. Thus, this study proves that signaling during positive selection by lineage-specifying cytokines is responsible for all CD8+-lineage-fate 'decisions' in the thymus.
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Project description:We applied single-cell sequencing to mouse thymocytes and analyzed the transcriptome data using Seurat. By applying unsupervised clustering, we defined thymocyte subtypes and validated DP cell subtypes by flow cytometry. We classified the cell cycle phases of each cell according to expression of cell cycle phase-specific genes. For immune synapse detection, we used immunofluorescent staining and ImageStream-based flow cytometry. We studied and integrated human thymocyte data to verify the conservation of our findings and also performed cross-species comparisons to examine species-specific gene regulation. We classified blast, rearrangement and selection subtypes of DP thymocytes and used the surface markers CD2 and Ly6d to identify these subtypes by flow cytometry. Based on this new classification, we found that the proliferation of blast DP cells is quite different from that of double-positive cells and other cell types, which tend to exit the cell cycle after a single round. At the DP cell selection stage, we observed that CD8-associated immune synapses formed between thymocytes, indicating that CD8sp selection occurred among thymocytes themselves. Moreover, cross-species comparison revealed species-specific transcription factors (TFs) that contribute to the transcriptional differences of thymocytes from humans and mice. Our study classified DP thymocyte subtypes of different developmental stages and provided new insight into the development of DP thymocytes at single-cell resolution, furthering our knowledge of the fundamental immunological process of thymopoiesis.
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Project description:BACKGROUND: It is well known that CD1d-restricted Valpha14 invariant natural killer T (NKT) cells are derived from cells in the CD4(+)CD8(+) double-positive (DP) population in the thymus. However, the developmental progression of NKT cells in the earlier stages remains unclear, and the possible existence of NKT cell presursors in the earlier stages than DP stage remains to be tested. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we demonstrate that NKT cell precursors that express invariant Valpha14-Jalpha18 transcripts but devoid of surface expression of the invariant Valpha14 receptor are present in the late CD4(-)CD8(-) double-negative (DN)4 stage and have the potential to generate mature NKT cells in both in vivo and in vitro experimental conditions. Moreover, the DN4 population in CD1d knock-out (CD1dKO) mice was similar to those with an NKT cell potential in wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 (B6) mice, but failed to develop into NKT cells in vitro. However, these precursors could develop into NKT cells when co-cultured with normal thymocytes or in an in vivo experimental setting, indicating that functional NKT cell precursors are present in CD1dKO mice. CONCLUSIONS: Together, these results demonstrate that thymic DN4 fraction contains NKT cell precursors. Our findings provide new insights into the early development of NKT cells prior to surface expression of the invariant Valpha14 antigen receptor and suggest the possible alternative developmental pathway of NKT cells.
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Project description:Tregs and Tcons were isolated by flow cytometry from the spleen of naïve mice and from the spleen and central nervous system (brain + spinal cord) (CNS) of mice at the peak of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced by immunization with MOG(35-55). Samples at EAE peak were collected at day 16-18 after immunization. Purity was >99.5%. Foxp3.eGFP mice (provided by A. Rudensky) were used to identify Tregs. A bin channel excluded CD11b+ cells during the sort. Mice were 6-10 weeks of age at the time of immunization. The goal was to identify genes differentially expressed between Tregs and Tcons from naive mice, and genes differentially expressed by these cells in the inflamed tissue (central nervous system) at the peak of the disease.
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Project description:The thymus is one of the most affected organs during malnutrition, exhibiting atrophy and thymocyte depletion, characteristics that are also observed in several infectious diseases. The detrimental effects of malnutrition on immune responses to pathogens have long been recognized and it is considered a main risk factor for various infectious diseases, including visceral leishmaniasis (VL). However, the thymus has been barely studied during malnutrition and Leishmania infantum infection association. Protein malnutrition modifies intrathymic communication in L. infantum infected BALB/c mice by altering the abundance of proteins secreted to the thymic interstitial fluid (IF). We identified and compared protein abundance in the thymic IF samples from BALB/c mice that were fed with control protein (14%, CP) or low protein (4%, LP) isocaloric diets, followed by infection with L. infantum. By means of a quantitative proteomics approach using iTRAQ we identified 280 proteins of which 81% were reported as secreted by exosomes and 42% were previously described as secreted by thymic epithelial cells. LP-infected (LPi) animals showed a significant decrease in exosomal proteins, suggesting that exosomal carrier system is dysregulated in malnourished animals. LPi mice also exhibited an increase in the relative abundance of proteins involved in lipid metabolism and tricarboxylic acid cycle, suggestive of a non-proliferative microenvironment. Accordingly, flow cytometry analysis revealed that protein malnutrition decreases the proliferation of single positive and double positive T cells. Proteins engaged in glycolysis, protein ubiquitination and mRNA processing were significantly decreased. In addition, a significant decrease in the abundance of galectin-1 and increase of plasminogen were observed in malnourished animals. Together, the reduced cortical area, decreased proliferation, increased abundance of lipid- and tricarboxylic acid cycle-related proteins, and altered abundance of galectin-1 and plasminogen indicate a dysfunctional thymic microenvironment, where T cell migration, proliferation and maturation are compromised, contributing for the thymic atrophy observed in malnourished animals. All these alterations affect the control of the local and systemic infection, resulting in an impaired response to L. infantum infection.
2019-11-12 | PXD010414 | Pride
Project description:CD4(+) helper and CD8(+) cytotoxic T cells differentiate from common precursors in the thymus after T-cell receptor (TCR)-mediated selection. Commitment to the helper lineage depends on persistent TCR signals and expression of the ThPOK transcription factor, whereas a ThPOK cis-regulatory element, ThPOK silencer, represses Thpok gene expression during commitment to the cytotoxic lineage. Here, we show that silencer-mediated alterations of chromatin structures in cytotoxic-lineage thymocytes establish a repressive state that is epigenetically inherited in peripheral CD8(+) T cells even after removal of the silencer. When silencer activity is enhanced in helper-lineage cells, by increasing its copy number, a similar heritable Thpok silencing occurs. Epigenetic locking of the Thpok locus may therefore be an independent event from commitment to the cytotoxic lineage. These findings imply that long-lasting TCR signals are needed to establish stable Thpok expression activity to commit to helper T-cell fate and that full commitment to the helper lineage requires persistent reversal of silencer activity during a particular time window.
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Project description:CD4 N (RA+ MACS sort)Th0 (no diff Cytokines)(day 14) For data usage terms and conditions, please refer to http://www.genome.gov/27528022 and http://www.genome.gov/Pages/Research/ENCODE/ENCODE_Data_Use_Policy_for_External_Users_03-07-14.pdf
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