Time-series single-cell RNA sequencing analysis of WT or CCR2-/- murine lungs in silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis model.

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a progressive fibrotic disease with a poor prognosis and suboptimal therapeutic options. Macrophages have been implicated in PF; however, the roles of macrophage subsets, particularly interstitial macrophages (IM), remain unknown. To address this issue, we performed time-series single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis in silica-induced PF model mice and clarify the characteristics of IM. In addition, to elucidate the origin of IM, we used CCR2-/- mice which supressed classical monocyte infiltration. To clarify transcriptomic landscape of silica-administrated murine lungs, we intratracheally administered with silica (400 mg/kg) to WT or CCR2-/- mice and lungs were harvested at day3, 7, and 21. scRNA-seq was performed using Illumina Novaseq 6000 sequencer.