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The total mass, number, and distribution of immune cells in the human body.

ABSTRACT: The immune system is a complex network of cells with critical functions in health and disease. However, a comprehensive census of the cells comprising the immune system is lacking. Here, we estimated the abundance of the primary immune cell types throughout all tissues in the human body. We conducted a literature survey and integrated data from multiplexed imaging and methylome-based deconvolution. We also considered cellular mass to determine the distribution of immune cells in terms of both number and total mass. Our results indicate that the immune system of a reference 73 kg man consists of 1.8 × 10¹² cells (95% CI 1.5-2.3 × 10¹²), weighing 1.2 kg (95% CI 0.8-1.9). Lymphocytes constitute 40% of the total number of immune cells and 15% of the mass and are mainly located in the lymph nodes and spleen. Neutrophils account for similar proportions of both the number and total mass of immune cells, with most neutrophils residing in the bone marrow. Macrophages, present in most tissues, account for 10% of immune cells but contribute nearly 50% of the total cellular mass due to their large size. The quantification of immune cells within the human body presented here can serve to understand the immune function better and facilitate quantitative modeling of this vital system.

SUBMITTER: Sender R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10623016 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The total mass, number, and distribution of immune cells in the human body.

Sender Ron R Weiss Yarden Y Navon Yoav Y Milo Idan I Azulay Nofar N Keren Leeat L Fuchs Shai S Ben-Zvi Danny D Noor Elad E Milo Ron R

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20231023 44

The immune system is a complex network of cells with critical functions in health and disease. However, a comprehensive census of the cells comprising the immune system is lacking. Here, we estimated the abundance of the primary immune cell types throughout all tissues in the human body. We conducted a literature survey and integrated data from multiplexed imaging and methylome-based deconvolution. We also considered cellular mass to determine the distribution of immune cells in terms of both nu ...[more]

PMID: 37871201

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Project description:Body length, body height, and total teat number are economically important traits in pig breeding, as these traits are usually associated with the growth, reproductivity, and longevity potential of piglets. Here, we report a genetic analysis of these traits using a population comprising 2,068 Large White pigs. A genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) approach was used to provide high-density genome-wide SNP discovery and genotyping. Univariate and bivariate animal models were used to estimate heritability and genetic correlations. The results showed that heritability estimates for body length, body height, and total teat number were 0.25 ± 0.04, 0.11 ± 0.03, and 0.22 ± 0.04, respectively. The genetic correlation between body length and body height exhibited a strongly positive correlation (0.63 ± 0.15), while a positive but low genetic correlation was observed between total teat number and body length. Furthermore, we used two different genome-wide association study (GWAS) approaches: single-locus GWAS and weighted single-step GWAS (WssGWAS), to identify candidate genes for these traits. Single-locus GWAS detected 76, 13, and 29 significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with body length, body height, and total teat number. Notably, the most significant SNP (S17_15781294), which is located 20 kb downstream of the BMP2 gene, explained 9.09% of the genetic variance for body length traits, and it also explained 9.57% of the genetic variance for body height traits. In addition, another significant SNP (S7_97595973), which is located in the ABCD4 gene, explained 8.92% of the genetic variance for total teat number traits. GWAS results for these traits identified some candidate genomic regions, such as SSC6: 14.96-15.02 Mb, SSC7: 97.18-98.18 Mb, SSC14: 128.29-131.15 Mb, SSC17: 15.39-17.27 Mb, and SSC17: 22.04-24.15 Mb, providing a starting point for further inheritance research. Most quantitative trait loci were detected by single-locus GWAS and WssGWAS. These findings reveal the complexity of the genetic mechanism of the three traits and provide guidance for subsequent genetic improvement through genome selection.

Dataset Information

The total mass, number, and distribution of immune cells in the human body.

Publications

The total mass, number, and distribution of immune cells in the human body.

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