A comprehensive exploration of the heterogeneity of immune cells in Han and Zang systemic lupus erythematosus patients via single-cell RNA sequencing

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune sickness with unclear pathogenesis. The goal of this research was to reveal the heterogeneity of immune cells in SLE patients of Han and Zang nationality by single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and bioinformatics profiling. A total of 94,102 peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from six volunteers with SLE (3 Zang, 3 Han) and six healthy controls were first conducted through scRNA-seq analysis. The immune cell subsets in the pathogenesis of SLE were analyzed as well. Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was applied to confirm the results of sc-RNA seq analysis. For the Tibetan samples, the ratios of Naïve CD4 RPS4Y1 cells, Naïve CD4 cells, Memory BC CD24 and Memory BC differed significantly between the SLE and control samples, while that of CD8 CTL MAL cells was significantly different between the two groups in Han nationality samples. Variable differentiation states of CD8 CTL MAL cells, CD8 CTL GZMK cells, and Naïve CD4 cells were detected through pseudotime analysis. Moreover, T-cell receptor (TCR) abundance was notably higher in Tibetan SLE specimens than that in controls, while B-cell receptor (BCR) abundance in Tibetan and Han samples was higher than in control groups. In summary, the immune cellular heterogeneity of SLE patients both Han and Zang nationality was explored based on various bioinformatics approaches, providing new perspectives for immunological characteristics of SLE among different ethnic groups. •The SLE-associated TCR and BCR can potentially provide novel insights for disease status and therapeutic targets.•Analysis based on single-cell RNA sequencing data from SLE patients and healthy controls of Han and Tibetan ethnicity.•CD8 CTL, Naïve CD4 cells and memory B cells might contribute to the pathogenesis of SLE patients of Han and Zang nationality.•The heterogeneity of immune cells for Han and Tibetan SLE patients provided a new insight of immune dysregulation in SLE.