Discovery of CD80 and CD86 as recent activation markers on regulatory T cells by protein-RNA single-cell analysis

Background: Traditionally, the transcriptomic and proteomic characterisation of CD4⁺ T cells at the single-cell level has been performed by two largely exclusive types of technologies: single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and antibody-based cytometry. Here, we present a multi-omics approach allowing the simultaneous targeted quantification of mRNA and protein expression in single cells and investigate its performance to dissect the heterogeneity of human immune cell populations.

Methods: We have quantified the single-cell expression of 397 genes at the mRNA level and up to 68 proteins using oligo-conjugated antibodies (AbSeq) in 43,656 primary CD4⁺ T cells isolated from the blood and 31,907 CD45⁺ cells isolated from the blood and matched duodenal biopsies. We explored the sensitivity of this targeted scRNA-seq approach to dissect the heterogeneity of human immune cell populations and identify trajectories of functional T cell differentiation.

Results: We provide a high-resolution map of human primary CD4⁺ T cells and identify precise trajectories of Th1, Th17 and regulatory T cell (Treg) differentiation in the blood and tissue. The sensitivity provided by this multi-omics approach identified the expression of the B7 molecules CD80 and CD86 on the surface of CD4⁺ Tregs, and we further demonstrated that B7 expression has the potential to identify recently activated T cells in circulation. Moreover, we identified a rare subset of CCR9⁺ T cells in the blood with tissue-homing properties and expression of several immune checkpoint molecules, suggestive of a regulatory function.

Conclusions: The transcriptomic and proteomic hybrid technology described in this study provides a cost-effective solution to dissect the heterogeneity of immune cell populations at extremely high resolution. Unexpectedly, CD80 and CD86, normally expressed on antigen-presenting cells, were detected on a subset of activated Tregs, indicating a role for these co-stimulatory molecules in regulating the dynamics of CD4⁺ T cell responses.