Single-cell transcriptome reveals immunopathological cell composition of skin lesions in subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus

Meiling Zheng; Zhi Hu; Wenhui Zhou; Yi Kong; Ruifang Wu; Bo Zhang; Hai Long; Sujie Jia; Qianjin Lu; Ming Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.clim.2022.109172

Single-cell transcriptome reveals immunopathological cell composition of skin lesions in subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus

Clin Immunol. 2022 Dec:245:109172. doi: 10.1016/j.clim.2022.109172. Epub 2022 Nov 5.

Authors

Meiling Zheng¹, Zhi Hu¹, Wenhui Zhou¹, Yi Kong¹, Ruifang Wu¹, Bo Zhang², Hai Long¹, Sujie Jia³, Qianjin Lu⁴, Ming Zhao⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenomics, Changsha 410011, China; Research Unit of Key Technologies of Diagnosis and Treatment for Immune-related Skin Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Changsha 410011, China.
² Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing 210042, China.
³ Department of Pharmacy, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410011, China.
⁴ Department of Dermatology, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenomics, Changsha 410011, China; Research Unit of Key Technologies of Diagnosis and Treatment for Immune-related Skin Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Changsha 410011, China; Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing 210042, China.
⁵ Department of Dermatology, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenomics, Changsha 410011, China; Research Unit of Key Technologies of Diagnosis and Treatment for Immune-related Skin Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Changsha 410011, China; Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing 210042, China. Electronic address: zhaoming307@csu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36343898
DOI: 10.1016/j.clim.2022.109172

Abstract

Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE) is a clinical subtype of cutaneous lupus erythematosus with psoriatic-like or annular papules with scaly erythemas, the pathological mechanism of which is poorly understood. To investigate the immune pathogenesis of SCLE, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) of SCLE skin lesions and integrated the scRNA-seq data from skin tissues of healthy controls (HCs). Our results identified expanded fibroblasts and keratinocytes subtypes, abnormally activated lymphocyte and inflammatory M1 macrophages in SCLE. In SCLE, stromal cells, such as keratinocytes and fibroblasts, showed enhanced chemotactic functions for recruiting immune cells. Importantly, interferon-related genes were identified as key intermediate genes in the potential trajectory of fibroblasts, keratinocytes, and B cells from HCs to SCLE. Our investigation provides a comprehensive description of cell composition in SCLE and highlights several important clues for understanding the pathogenesis of SCLE.

Keywords: Immune cells; Interferon-related genes; SCLE; Single cell RNA sequencing.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

B-Lymphocytes / pathology
Humans
Keratinocytes
Lupus Erythematosus, Cutaneous* / genetics
Skin
Transcriptome*