Single-cell RNA-seq of intestinal ?d T cells from cIAP2-deficient and ROR?t-Cre–mediated cIAP1 conditional knockout mice across developmental stages
This study investigates the post-thymic maturation and transcriptional programming of intestinal ?d T cells across early life. Single-cell RNA sequencing of FACS-sorted small-intestinal lamina propria ?d T cells was performed at four developmental stages: newborn, day 7, day 21, and post-weaning (day 42) in order to characterize dynamic changes in cell composition, activation, and effector programs. Mice carried a ROR?t-Cre allele, cIAP1 floxed alleles, and a full cIAP2 knockout. Both Cre? and Cre? ?d T cells were sorted; Cre? cells served as wild-type controls and were used to define the normal developmental trajectory (aim 1), while Cre? cells, which lack cIAP proteins, were analyzed alongside their Cre? littermates controls to determine how cIAP deficiency affects ?d T cell development and transcriptional profile (aim 2).