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A nasal cell atlas reveals heterogeneity of tuft cells and their role in directing olfactory stem cell proliferation

ABSTRACT: The olfactory neuroepithelium serves as a sensory organ for odors and forms part of the nasal mucosal barrier. Olfactory sensory neurons are surrounded and supported by epithelial cells. Among them, microvillous cells (MVCs) are strategically positioned at the apical surface, but their specific functions are enigmatic and their relationship to the other specialized epithelial cells, particularly the solitary chemosensory cell family, is unclear. Here, we establish that the family of MVCs comprises tuft cells and ionocytes in both mice and humans. Integrating analysis of the respiratory and olfactory epithelia, we define the unique receptor expression of TRPM5+ tuft-MVCs compared to Gɑ-gustducinhigh respiratory tuft cells and characterize a new population of glandular DCLK1+ tuft cells. To establish how allergen sensing by tuft-MVCs might direct olfactory mucosal responses, we employed an integrated single-cell transcriptional and protein analysis. Inhalation of Alternaria induced mucosal epithelial effector molecules including Chil4, and a distinct pathway leading to proliferation of the quiescent olfactory horizontal basal stem cell (HBC) pool, both triggered in the absence of olfactory apoptosis. While the Chil4 pathway was dependent on STAT6 signaling and innate lymphocytes, neither were required for HBC proliferation. Alternaria- and ATP- elicited HBC proliferation was dependent on tuft-MVCs, establishing these specialized epithelial cells as regulators of olfactory stem cell responses. Together our data provide high resolution characterization of nasal tuft cell heterogeneity and uncover a novel function for TRPM5+ tuft-MVCs in directing the olfactory mucosal response to allergens.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE245074 | GEO | 2023/12/04

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Purpose: Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-expressing epithelial cells are found in the upper and lower airways. In the trachea, they are referred to as brush cells. In the mouse nose two distinct populations of ChAT-eGFP+ cells had been previously described: a population of rare solitary chemosensory cells (SCCs) in the respiratory mucosa and a more abundant population of microvillous cells (MVCs) in the olfactory epithelium. Besides ChAT expression, SCCs share the expression of bitter taste receptors and signaling machinery with tracheal brush cells as well as close association with CGPR+ nerve fibers and an elongated shape. MVCs do not express bitter taste receptors, are not clearly associated with nerves and are smaller in size than SCCs. We have previously reported the transcriptional profile of tracheal ChAT-expressing brush cells but the transcriptional profile of nasal chemosensory ChAT+ epithelial cells has not been reported. Methods: In this study, we isolated nasal ChAT-eGFP+ cells by FACS from naïve ChAT(BAC)-eGFP mice with knockin of eGFP within a BAC spanning the ChAT locus, marking brush cells in the epithelium and performed transcriptome profiling using low input RNA sequencing. We sorted two distinct subsets of ChAT-eGFP+ epithelial cells from the nasal mucosa based on FACS ice and granularity characteristic: ChAT-eGFP+ EpCAM+ FSC/SSChigh (representing 5% of all ChAT-eGFP+ cells) and FSC/SSClow (representing 95% of all ChAT-eGFP+ cells), respectively. We compared them to unfractionated ChAT-eGFP- EpCAM+ epithelial cells. Results: Both nasal ChAT-eGFP subsets shared the core transcriptional profile of chemosensory cells from the intestine, trachea, gallbladder and thymus including the expression of Il25, Pou2f3, Trpm5, Avil, Plcb2 and transcripts of eicosanoid biosynthetic enzymes suggesting that most ChAT-eGFP+ cells in the nose belong to the chemosensory/tuft/brush cel family. The two subsets of nasal ChAT-eGFP+ cells differed in expression of taste receptors and taste receptor signaling machinery. Conclusions: Our study represents the first detailed analysis of the transcriptome of nasal ChAT-eGFP+ cells (brush cells) and identifies two subsets of nasal brush cells that share a core transcriptional signature but differ in expression of bitter taste receptors.

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A nasal cell atlas reveals heterogeneity of tuft cells and their role in directing olfactory stem cell proliferation

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