Single cell transcriptomic analysis on murine Tregs
Treg-based therapy is currently limited by the reduced survival of Tregs in vivo, which is largely due to the lack of IL-2 in patients, and yet IL-2 is essential for Treg survival and function. In our study, we generated Tregs expressing a partial agonist form of IL-2 (Tregs-IL2pa) to promote their survival while avoiding the potential excessive signaling associated with wild-type IL-2.The data provided in this project belong to a study aimed at characterizing the transcriptomic profile of Tregs-IL2pa. Specifically, this single-cell RNA-seq analysis investigates the transcriptomic profiles of these cells in vivo when their primary or sole source of IL-2 is the endogenous production of IL-2.For this study, Tregs were sorted from the spleen of an immunocompetent B6 mouse that had received murine Tregs-IL2pa 6 months prior. By 2 months post-injection, transduced control cells expressing only the reporter gene were almost undetectable in both the blood and organs of the recipient mice. In contrast, Tregs-IL2pa not only survived but expanded significantly. Additionally, we observed that the IL-2pa produced by the transduced Tregs-IL2pa was present in excess, promoting the expansion not only of the transduced Tregs-IL2pa but also of the mice's endogenous Tregs. The transcriptomic analysis was performed 6 months post-injection to capture the long-term survival and functional state of the Tregs-IL2pa in vivo. The analysis also includes the transcriptomic profiles of endogenous Tregs stimulated by IL-2pa, as well as control endogenous Tregs from normal mice.