Frontiers in Immunology (Dec 2022)

Single-cell transcriptomics reveals cell type–specific immune regulation associated with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis in humans

  • Yushu Jiang,
  • Shuhua Dai,
  • Linlin Jia,
  • Lingzhi Qin,
  • Milan Zhang,
  • Huiqin Liu,
  • Xiaojuan Wang,
  • Rui Pang,
  • Jiewen Zhang,
  • Gongxin Peng,
  • Wei Li

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.1075675
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

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IntroductionAnti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis (anti-NMDARE) is a rare autoimmune disease, and the peripheral immune characteristics associated with anti-NMDARE antibodies remain unclear.MethodsHerein, we characterized peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with anti-NMDARE and healthy individuals by single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq).ResultsThe transcriptional profiles of 129,217 cells were assessed, and 21 major cell clusters were identified. B-cell activation and differentiation, plasma cell expansion, and excessive inflammatory responses in innate immunity were all identified. Patients with anti-NMDARE showed higher expression levels of CXCL8, IL1B, IL6, TNF, TNFSF13, TNFSF13B, and NLRP3. We observed that anti-NMDARE patients in the acute phase expressed high levels of DC_CCR7 in human myeloid cells. Moreover, we observed that anti-NMDARE effects include oligoclonal expansions in response to immunizing agents. Strong humoral immunity and positive regulation of lymphocyte activation were observed in acute stage anti-NMDARE patients.DiscussionThis high-dimensional single-cell profiling of the peripheral immune microenvironment suggests that potential mechanisms are involved in the pathogenesis and recovery of anti-NMDAREs.

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