Deciphering the role of oligodendroglial Serpina3n in EAE pathology using single-cell RNA sequencing

This study employs single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to investigate cellular and transcriptional changes in the spinal cord at day 27 post-induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Samples were collected from three groups: (1) control mice treated with CFA only (Ctrl_CFA), (2) EAE-induced mice with MOG peptide administration (Ctrl_MOG), and (3) EAE-induced mice with oligodendrocyte-specific Serpina3n deletion (Olig2-Cre Serpina3n flox/flox, Serpina3n cKO_MOG). This approach aims to dissect the cellular diversity and molecular pathways affected by EAE, with a focus on the role of oligodendroglial Serpina3n in modulating neural cellular function and neuroinflammation. The findings provide insights into cell-specific contributions to spinal cord inflammation and demyelination, highlighting Serpina3n as a potential therapeutic target. Experimental Groups: (1) Ctrl_CFA: Spinal cord samples from control mice treated with CFA and pertussis toxin without MOG peptide. (2) Ctrl_MOG: Spinal cord samples from mice treated with MOG peptide (35–55) emulsified in CFA and pertussis toxin to induce EAE. (3) Serpina3n cKO_MOG: Spinal cord samples from EAE-induced mice with oligodendrocyte-specific Serpina3n deletion (Olig2-Cre Serpina3n flox/flox). At day 27 post-induction, spinal cords were extracted from mice in each group. Spinal cords from three mice were pooled and processed together for Single-cell RNA sequencing using the 10x Genomics Chromium platform.