Single-cell analysis reveals a weak macrophage subpopulation response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

ABSTRACT: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection remains one of society's greatest human health challenges. Macrophages integrate multiple signals derived from ontogeny, infection, and the environment. This integration proceeds heterogeneously during infection. Some macrophages are infected, while others are not; therefore, bulk approaches mask the subpopulation dynamics. We establish a modular, targeted, single-cell protein analysis framework to study the immune response to Mtb. We demonstrate that during Mtb infection, only a small fraction of resting macrophages produce tumor necrosis factor (TNF) protein. We demonstrate that Mtb infection results in muted phosphorylation of p38 and JNK, regulators of inflammation, and leverage our single-cell methods to distinguish between pathogen-mediated

SUBMITTER: Solomon SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10842899 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature