Gene expression profile at single cell level of CD8+ T cells and NK cells as part of neonatal antiviral response in C57BL/6J and PrP KO mice infected with mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV)

Cytomegaloviral (CMV) infection poses risks to newborns, necessitating effective therapies. Given that the damage includes both viral infection of brain cells and immune system-related damage, we investigated the involvement of cellular prion protein (PrP), which plays vital roles in neuroprotection and immune regulation. We used single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to analyze the differences in CD8+ T cell and NK cell response to congenital MCMV infection in wild type mice and strain lacking functional PrP protein (PrP KO). Overall design: 10 000 cells per sample were used for analysis in CD8+ T cell: NK cell ratio 9:1. For spleen samples we FACS sorted cells from congenitally MCMV infected and naïve PrP KO and C57BL/6J mice 14 days post infection. Since there are no infiltrating immune cells in brains of healthy animals, naïve samples have been excluded, thus the two brain samples consisted of cells isolated from infected mice.