Tuft cells and fibroblasts promote thymus regeneration through activation of a type-2 immune response [CITE-Seq]

The goal of this study was to examine the effect of dexamethasone-induced involution on the thymus cellular composition, and highlight cell populations which participate in the regeneration process. For this purpose we treated WT mice with dexamethasone, sorted non-T hematopoietic cells from their thymi 4 days after treatment when the thymus begins its recovery, or at an earlier time point (18 hours) for comparison, and performed CITE-Seq. Young WT male mice were treated with dexamethasone 4 days/18 hours before sacrifice, then perfused and stained with CITE-Seq antibodies. Thymic hematopoietic cells excluding mature T cells were then isolated by FACS sorting for 10x single cell RNA sequencing. 2 replicates were used for each condition. The control was untreated age-matched WT mice.