Integrative Single-Cell RNA-Seq and ATAC-Seq Analysis of Peripheral Mononuclear Cells in Patients With Ankylosing...

Genetic studies on ankylosing spondylitis (AS) have identified more than 100 pathogenic genes. Building a bridge between these genes and biologically targeted therapies is the current research hotspot.

We integrated single-cell assaying transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing (scATAC-seq) and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to explore the key genes and related mechanisms associated with AS pathogenesis.

We identified 18 cell types in peripheral mononuclear cells from patients with AS and normal controls and summarized the cell-type-specific abnormal genes by scRNA-seq. Interestingly, we found that the pathogenic gene NFKB involved in AS progression originated from CD8+ T cells. Moreover, we observed an abnormal tumor TNF pathway mediated by abnormal expression of TNF, NFKB, FOS, JUN, and JUNB, and scATAC-seq results confirmed the abnormal accessible binding sites of transcriptional factors FOS, JUN, and JUNB. The final magnetic bead sorting and quantitative real-time PCR(RT-qPCR) confirmed that NFKB, FOS, JUN, and JUNB in CD8+ T cells differed in the AS group.

Our results revealed a possible mechanism by which NFKB abnormally regulates FOS, JUN, and JUNB and drives AS progression, providing a novel perspective from a single cell point of view in AS.