DataSheet_2_Defining solute carrier transporter signatures of murine immune cell subsets.zip

Solute carrier (SLC) transporters are membrane-bound proteins that facilitate nutrient transport, and the movement across cellular membranes of various substrates ranging from ions to amino acids, metabolites and drugs. Recently, SLCs have gained increased attention due to their functional linkage to innate immunological processes such as the clearance of dead cells and anti-microbial defense. Further, the druggable nature of these transporters provides unique opportunities for improving outcomes in different immunological diseases. Although the SLCs represent the largest group of transporters and are often identified as significant hits in omics data sets, their role in immunology has been insufficiently explored. This is partly due to the absence of tools that allow identification of SLC expression in particular immune cell types and enable their comparison before embarking on functional studies. In this study, we used publicly available RNA-Seq data sets to analyze the transcriptome in adaptive and innate immune cells, focusing on differentially and highly expressed SLCs. This revealed several new insights: first, we identify differentially expressed SLC transcripts in phagocytes (macrophages, dendritic cells, and neutrophils) compared to adaptive immune cells; second, we identify new potential immune cell markers based on SLC expression; and third, we provide user-friendly online tools for researchers to explore SLC genes of interest (and the rest of the genes as well), in three-way comparative dot plots among immune cells. We expect this work to facilitate SLC research and comparative transcriptomic studies across different immune cells.

溶质载体（Solute carrier, SLC）转运蛋白是一类膜结合蛋白，可介导营养物质与各类底物跨越细胞膜的转运，底物范围涵盖离子、氨基酸、代谢物及药物。近年来，SLC转运蛋白因与固有免疫过程（如清除死亡细胞、抗微生物防御）存在功能关联而受到越来越多的关注。此外，这类转运蛋白的可药性为改善多种免疫性疾病的治疗结局提供了独特契机。尽管SLC家族是最大的转运蛋白家族，且常在组学（omics）数据集中被鉴定为关键靶点，但目前对其在免疫学中的功能仍未得到充分探索。这一现状的部分原因在于，当前缺乏能够在特定免疫细胞类型中鉴定SLC表达水平，并可在开展功能研究前实现不同细胞间表达对比的工具。本研究利用公开的RNA测序（RNA-Seq）数据集，对适应性免疫细胞与固有免疫细胞的转录组进行分析，重点关注差异表达及高表达的SLC转运蛋白。本研究获得多项新发现：其一，相较于适应性免疫细胞，我们在吞噬细胞（巨噬细胞、树突状细胞及中性粒细胞）中鉴定出了差异表达的SLC转录本；其二，基于SLC的表达模式鉴定出了新型潜在免疫细胞标志物；其三，我们开发了操作便捷的在线工具，支持研究者通过免疫细胞间的三方比较点状图，探索目标SLC基因（以及其余所有基因）的表达情况。我们期望本研究能够推动SLC相关研究，以及不同免疫细胞间的比较转录组学研究。