中国神经再生研究(英文版) ›› 2025, Vol. 20 ›› Issue (12): 3635-3648.doi: 10.4103/NRR.NRR-D-23-02083

• 原著:视神经损伤修复保护与再生 • 上一篇    

单细胞RNA测序揭示斑马鱼视网膜再生中免疫细胞和Müller细胞的异质性及相互作用

  

  • 出版日期:2025-12-15 发布日期:2025-03-17

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals the heterogeneity and interactions of immune cells and Müller glia during zebrafish retina regeneration

Hui Xu1, 2, *, #, Lining Cao1, #, Yuxi Chen2 , Cuiping Zhou2 , Jie Xu2 , Zhuolin Zhang2 , Xiangyu Li2 , Lihua Liu1 , Jianfeng Lu1, *   

  1. 1 Shanghai YangZhi Rehabilitation Hospital (Shanghai Sunshine Rehabilitation Center), Frontier Science Center for Stem Cell Research, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China;  2 Key Lab of Neuroregeneration of Jiangsu and Ministry of Education, Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Tissue Engineering Technology Products, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China
  • Online:2025-12-15 Published:2025-03-17
  • Contact: Hui Xu, PhD, huixu82@126.com or huixu@ntu.edu.cn; Jianfeng Lu, PhD, lu.jianfeng@tongji.edu.cn.
  • Supported by:
    The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Nos. 81970820 (to HX), 31771644 (to JL), 31930068 (to JL), 82371176 (to JL), 81801331 (to LC); National Key Research and Development Project of China. Nos. 2017YFA0104100 (to JL), 2017YFA0701304 (to HX); Shanghai Yangzhi Rehabilitation Hospital (Shanghai Sunshine Rehabilitation Center) Talent Introduction Plan, No. KYPT202204 (to LC); and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, No. 22120230292 (to JL).

摘要:

炎症在鱼类和鸟类视网膜再生中起着至关重要的作用,然而其具体是如何调节Müller细胞重编程的,目前尚不清楚。此次实验应用单细胞RNA测序研究了斑马鱼再生视网膜中Müller细胞和免疫细胞的细胞异质性和相互作用。结果首先发现在未损伤的视网膜中存在2种不同类型的静息Müller细胞(1型和2型)。视网膜损伤后,1型静息Müller细胞转变为表达已知重编程基因的激活状态,而2型静息Müller细胞则转变为视杆前体细胞。而视网膜中的小胶质细胞根据表达谱可被分为1型、2型和增殖型。拟时分析可见,视网膜损伤后小胶质细胞发生了明显的状态转变。进一步细胞互作分析揭示了Müller细胞和免疫细胞之间存在着广泛的互作,且多种互作在不同类型的免疫细胞中均存在。最后发现炎症可通过激活Müller细胞中的Jak1-Stat3信号通路,促进Müller细胞从静息状态过渡到激活状态。上述结果揭示了斑马鱼视网膜修复中免疫细胞和Müller细胞的细胞异质性和串扰,有助于对自发性视网膜再生调控机制的理解。

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0782-4160 (Hui Xu); https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0547-0450 (Jianfeng Lu)

关键词: 单细胞RNA测序, 斑马鱼, 视网膜, 再生, Müller细胞, 重编程, 免疫细胞, 小胶质细胞, 炎症, Jak1-Stat3信号通路

Abstract: Inflammation plays a crucial role in the regeneration of fish and avian retinas. However, how inflammation regulates Müller glia (MG) reprogramming remains unclear. Here, we used single-cell RNA sequencing to investigate the cell heterogeneity and interactions of MG and immune cells in the regenerating zebrafish retina. We first showed that two types of quiescent MG (resting MG1 and MG2) reside in the uninjured retina. Following retinal injury, resting MG1 transitioned into an activated state expressing known reprogramming genes, while resting MG2 gave rise to rod progenitors. We further showed that retinal microglia can be categorized into three subtypes (microglia-1, microglia-2, and proliferative) and pseudotime analysis demonstrated dynamic changes in microglial status following retinal injury. Analysis of cell–cell interactions indicated extensive crosstalk between immune cells and MG, with many interactions shared among different immune cell types. Finally, we showed that inflammation activated Jak1–Stat3 signaling in MG, promoting their transition from a resting to an activated state. Our study reveals the cell heterogeneity and crosstalk of immune cells and MG in zebrafish retinal repair, and may provide valuable insights into future mammalian retina regeneration.

Key words: immune cells, inflammation, Jak1–Stat3 signaling, microglia, Müller glia, regeneration, reprogramming, retina, single-cell RNAseq, zebrafish