Single-Cell Atlas of Human Liver and Blood Immune Cells Across Fatty Liver Disease Stages

The goal of the study was to investigate immunological correlates of human fatty liver disease progression. We generated a single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) atlas of immune cells from liver fine needle aspirates (FNAs) and paired peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from a full-spectrum Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD)/Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis (MASH) human cohort, using the 3' 10X Genomics platform. Using computational analyses to assess changes in cellular frequencies and function, we found heightened immunoregulatory programs with profibrotic potential alongside a shift from antigen-specific to natural killer cytotoxic functions in the liver with MASH progression. Available data include raw single-cell transcriptomic data (FASTQ files) for each sample type (PBMC, FNA) per patient alongside clinical and histological measurements of fatty liver disease.]]>
Inclusion Criteria: age ≥18, fatty liver infiltration on ultrasound, CT scan, or MRI, and the ability to provide informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: infection with HBV, HCV or HIV, or other causes of chronic liver disease including steatogenic medications and significant alcohol consumption (defined by >2 drinks/day in men or >1 drink/day in women). ]]>