Single-Cell Targeted Transcriptomics Reveals Subset-Specific Immune Signatures Differentiating Asymptomatic and...

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Genomics
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, profoundly alters immune responses.
• Understanding immune cell subsets is key to Chagas disease progression and pathology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To dissect immune cell characteristics in asymptomatic (IND) versus cardiac (CCC) Chagas disease.
• To identify potential immune markers for Chagas disease progression.

Main Methods:

• Single-cell RNA sequencing of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from IND and CCC patients.
• Analysis of immune-gene expression patterns in distinct cell clusters.

Main Results:

• Identified unique myeloid and lymphoid cell clusters with distinct gene expression.
• Cardiac Chagas disease (CCC) showed increased cytotoxic KLRB1+CD4+, TBX21+CD8+ T cells, and NK cells.
• Monocytes, B cells, and dendritic cells in CCC exhibited inflammatory and cytotoxic gene expression.

Conclusions:

• Cell-specific gene expression differences exist between IND and CCC Chagas disease.
• These findings reveal an immune signature associated with Chagas disease clinical forms.
• The identified immune signature offers insights into Chagas disease pathology and progression markers.