Spatial transcriptomics of Atg7 knockout mice reveals ATG7's role in antimicrobial immunity against nontuberculous mycobacteria

We performed Spatial transcriptomics (Visium) using the 10X Genomics platform to investigate the role of the autophagy-related protein ATG7 in the context of nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infection. ATG7 in innate immune cells plays a critical role in controlling NTM infection and protecting lung tissue from pathological inflammation. This study represents single-cell analysis of Mice deletion of Atg7 in innate immune cells and reveals the importance of ATG7 in mediating antimicrobial responses during infection and its essential role in host defense mechanisms against NTM. Overall design: Following the resection of lungs from Mav-infected Atg7 wild type and knock out at 21 dpi. Tissues were dissociated by Liberase TL