Decoding thymic development: a single-cell atlas of tree shrew immunity.

ABSTRACT: The tree shrew is a potential mammalian model for preclinical studies, but its immune system is not well understood. In this study, we utilized single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to construct a comprehensive cell atlas of the postnatal thymus development of the tree shrew. Our data revealed that the tree shrew thymocytes exhibit conserved features with species-specific variations in cell states and types when compared to those of humans and pigs. We found that tree shrew thymocyte markers are generally intermediate between humans and pigs, with some resembling each species. Some are different from both humans and pigs, such as the expression of the ZNF683 gene, which is not detected until the later stage of CD8aa cells development. The tree shrew thymic cells were classified into 20 ty

SUBMITTER: Tang H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12855143 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature