Thymus antibody-secreting cells possess an interferon gene signature and are preferentially expanded in young female mice.

Antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) are key contributors to humoral immunity through immunoglobulin production and the potential to be long-lived. ASC persistence has been recognized in the autoimmune thymus (THY); however, only recently has this population been appreciated in healthy THY tissue. We showed that the young female THY was skewed toward higher production of ASCs relative to males. However, these differences disappeared with age. In both sexes, THY ASCs included Ki-67+ plasmablasts which required CD154(CD40L) signals for their propagation. Single cell RNA-sequencing revealed that THY ASCs were enriched for an interferon responsive transcriptional signature relative to those from bone marrow and spleen. Flow cytometry confirmed that THY ASCs had increased levels of Toll-like receptor 7 as well as CD69 and major histocompatibility complex class II. Overall, we identified fundamental aspects of THY ASC biology which may be leveraged for future in depth studies of this population in both health and disease. Thymus ASCs are selectively increased in young female Prdm1-eYFP mice Thymus ASCs contain a CD154(CD40L) dependent Ki-67+ plasmablast population Ectopic in vivo CD40 ligation does not increase total thymus ASC numbers Thymus ASCs possess an interferon responsive gene signature Immunity; Components of the immune system; Cell; Transcriptomics

抗体分泌细胞（ASCs）通过产生免疫球蛋白以及具有长寿的潜力，是体液免疫的关键贡献者。在自身免疫性胸腺（THY）中已认识到抗体分泌细胞的持久性；然而，直到最近才在健康的胸腺组织中重视这一细胞群。我们发现，年轻雌性的胸腺相对于雄性更倾向于产生更多的抗体分泌细胞。然而，这些差异随着年龄的增长而消失。在两性中，胸腺抗体分泌细胞包括Ki - 67⁺浆母细胞，其增殖需要CD154（CD40L）信号。单细胞RNA测序显示，与来自骨髓和脾脏的抗体分泌细胞相比，胸腺抗体分泌细胞富含干扰素应答转录特征。流式细胞术证实，胸腺抗体分泌细胞的Toll样受体7以及CD69和主要组织相容性复合体II类水平升高。总体而言，我们确定了胸腺抗体分泌细胞生物学的基本方面，这可用于未来对该细胞群在健康和疾病状态下的深入研究。 在年轻雌性Prdm1 - eYFP小鼠中胸腺抗体分泌细胞选择性增加 胸腺抗体分泌细胞包含一个依赖CD154（CD40L）的Ki - 67⁺浆母细胞群 体内异位CD40连接不会增加胸腺抗体分泌细胞总数 胸腺抗体分泌细胞具有干扰素应答基因特征 免疫；免疫系统的组成部分；细胞；转录组学