Single cell RNA-seq reveals high heterogeneity among human γδ T cells.

Human γδ T cells take a small but important part in the immune system. Human γδ T cells are usually categorized by the V gene of their T cell receptor (TCR) δ chain; most of which are Vδ1+ or Vδ2+. Naive γδ T cells are often found from neonates and cytotoxic γδ T cells (γδCTLs) are frequent in adults. However, phenotypes and the developmental programs of human γδ T cells are not fully clear. Here, by single-cell RNA sequencing (sc-RNAseq) of transcriptome and T cell receptor (sc-TCRseq) on γδ T cells from neonates and adults, we revealed human γδ T cells can be divided as naïve T cells, γδCTLs, and γδNKT cells which are featured by pro-Vδ1, Vδ1, and Vδ2 TCR repertoire, respectively. γδNKT cells can be further described as γδNKT-1, γδNKT-2, and γδNKT-17 cells. Sort ϒδT cells from neonatal cord blood and adult peripheral blood, then do 5'-RNA single cell transcriptome and TCR sequening (10x genomics).