Early transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of CD8⁺ T cell differentiation revealed by single-cell RNA sequencing.

ABSTRACT: During microbial infection, responding CD8⁺ T lymphocytes differentiate into heterogeneous subsets that together provide immediate and durable protection. To elucidate the dynamic transcriptional changes that underlie this process, we applied a single-cell RNA-sequencing approach and analyzed individual CD8⁺ T lymphocytes sequentially throughout the course of a viral infection in vivo. Our analyses revealed a striking transcriptional divergence among cells that had undergone their first division and identified previously unknown molecular determinants that controlled the fate specification of CD8⁺ T lymphocytes. Our findings suggest a model for the differentiation of terminal effector cells initiated by an early burst of transcriptional activity and subsequ

SUBMITTER: Kakaradov B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5360497 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature