Type-I interferome in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC)

Rationale: Humans encode 12 different IFNa proteins. All of them, except IFNa1 (only binds with IFNAR1), bind with IFNAR1 and IFNAR2 to activate their downstream functions. Currently in the field, it is still a debate whether there are qualitative difference between different IFNa subtypes or the differences are merely quantitative. The current study was set out to elucidate the question. Methods: Commercially purchased PBMCs from 7 donors were mock treated or with ISRE activity normalized IFNa1, IFNa2, IFNa4, IFNa5, IFNa8, IFNa14, or IFNb. RNAs were extracted from cells after 18 hrs of incubation. RNASeq libraries were generated using Lexogen Quant Seq 3’ mRNA-Seq library (FWD) Prep Kit. RNASeq were performed on Illumina NovaSEQ6000. Results: An average of 12.6 million gene counts were identified for each donor/treatment. A total of 50,133 genes were mapped, and among them 333 genes were differentially expressed due to type I interferon treatments. Each of IFNa subtypes or IFNb has their specifically regulated genes in PBMCs. Conclusion: These are the further evidences that there are qualitative differences between type I interferons. Transcriptomic profiles of PBMCs treated with different Type I interferons.