Objective To explore the role of high endothelial venule (HEV) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at the single cell level. Methods A total of 219257 cells from the lung tissues of 18 COPD patients and 28 healthy controls in the GEO public database (GSE136831) were used to analyze the relationship between HEV with T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and dendritic cells. Results Endothelial cells were extracted using single cell analysis technique, and sorting out venous endothelium, CCL14, IGFBP7, POSTN were used as marker genes for HEV endothelial cells. The ratio of HEV endothelial cells was also identified as up-regulated expression in COPD. The function of the differential genes of HEV endothelial cells was analyzed, suggesting the presence of immune regulation. By trajectory analysis, it was suggested that the differential genes of HEV endothelial cells were enriched for extracellular matrix deposition in late development. Finally, by receptor-ligand pairing, it was suggested that HEV endothelial cells was recruited through a series of ligands with T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and dendritic cells. Conclusions HEV endothelial cells are elevated in COPD and have an immunomodulatory role by secreting a series of ligands after recruiting T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes as well as dendritic cells for immune action. HEV may be a potential target for the study of COPD therapy.
ObjectiveTo explore the functional heterogeneity of T lymphocytes in various organs after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods Using the public database GEO data (GSE171668, GSE159812, GSE159556, GSE167747) and the analysis method of single-cell technology, the functional differences of T lymphocytes in various organs of patients after infection with SARS-CoV-2 were analyzed. Results Through single-cell data extraction of 16 livers, 19 hearts,2 spleens, 6 brains, 58 lungs, 21 kidneys and 5 pancreases from SARS-CoV-2 infected patients, invasion genes were relatively highly expressed in T lymphocytes of the lung and pancreas. The lung had a special ability to express the interferon signaling pathway, while the expression of other organs was relatively low; at the same time, the T lymphocytes of the lung also highly expressed fatty acid binding sites. Conclusion After SARS-CoV-2 infection, compared with other organs, the lung has a special interferon-activated signaling pathway and fatty acid binding site.