Spatial transcriptomics from clinically non inflammed human lymph nodes

Because of their central role in inflammatory processes pathological alterations in lymph nodes can affect innate and adaptive immunity. However, interpretation of lymph node pathology in humans is hampered by the lack of a reference under homeostatic conditions and a limited understanding of the molecular processes that occur during inflammatory activation. Using a combination of confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, and single cell and spatial transcriptome analysis, our study provides an in-depth characterization of the immunoanatomy of clinically inflammed and non-inflamed human lymph nodes.

鉴于淋巴结在炎症进程中发挥核心作用，其病理改变可影响固有免疫与适应性免疫功能。然而，当前对人类淋巴结病理的解读仍存在两大阻碍：一是缺乏稳态条件下的参考基准，二是对炎症激活过程中发生的分子机制认知有限。本研究结合共聚焦显微镜术（confocal microscopy）、流式细胞术（flow cytometry）以及单细胞与空间转录组分析技术，对临床炎性及非炎性人类淋巴结的免疫解剖学特征进行了深入表征。