Cutaneous lupus features specialized stromal niches and altered retroelement expression
Single-cell RNA and spatial sequencing of lesional and non-lesional cutaneous lupus skin compared to healthy controls. The study includes 12 single-cell samples (cutaneous lupus patients with non-lesional (5) and lesional (4) skin biopsies with healthy controls (3)) and 4 spatial transcriptomics samples (cutaneous lupus patient pre/post-Anifrolumab treatment, 1 additional CLE patient, and 1 healthy control). Overall design: Overall design: Single-cell RNA-seq was performed on 12 samples: 5 non-lesional cutaneous lupus (CLE) samples, 4 lesional (NL) skin samples from CLE patients, and 3 healthy control (HC) samples. Additionally, 10x Visium spatial transcriptomics was performed on 4 samples: 1 from a patient with subacute cutaneous lupus (SCLE) before and after Anifrolumab treatment, 1 from a patient with discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE), and 1 healthy control sample. The study aims to investigate pathophysiology of cutaneous lupus, including interferon signatures, specialized fibroblast populations, and retroelement expression.