Characterizing CD8+ TEMRA Cells in CP/CPPS Patients: Insights from Targeted Single-Cell Transcriptomic and Functional Investigations

Abstract

Background:The specific involvement of the CD8+ T effector memory RA (TEMRA) subset in patients with chronic prostatitis/ chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) has largely not been explored in the literature. Methods: Targeted single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) profiles were generated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from two CP/CPPS patients and two healthy controls (HCs) in our recent study. Pseudotime series algorithms were used to reveal the differentiation trajectory, CellChat analysis was used to explore the communication between individual cells, and the SCENIC program was used to identify potential transcription factors (TFs). Based on the cosine similarity, clusters of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were considered to be further enriched in different pathways. To confirm the functional role of the critical clusters, flow cytometry was employed. Results:The results revealed the molecular landscape of these clusters, with TEMRA cells exhibiting pronounced cytokine-mediated signaling pathway enrichment. Pseudotime trajectory analysis further mapped the evolution from naïve T cells to that of TEMRA cells, elucidating the developmental pathways involved in the immune context. A significant finding from CellChat analysis was the differential expression of ligands and receptors, with CD8+ TEMRA cells showing enhanced signaling, particularly in the CP/CPPS context, compared to HCs. Flow cytometry confirmed these results, revealing a heightened proinflammatory cytokine profile in patients with chronic prostatitis-like symptoms (CP-LS), suggesting that TEMRA cells play a significant role in disease pathogenesis. TF profiling across the T-cell clusters identified key regulators of cellular identity, identifying novel therapeutic targets. Elevated TNF signaling activity in CD8+ TEMRA cells underscored the involvement of these cells in disease mechanisms. Conclusion:This study elucidates the pivotal role of the CD8+ TEMRA cell subset in CP/CPPS, which is characterized by increased TNF signaling and proinflammatory factor expression, highlighting potential biomarkers and opening new avenues for therapeutic intervention.

CD8 T cells are dispensable for experimental autoimmune prostatitis induction and chronic pelvic pain development

“…suggest that while there were no significant differences in the proportions of peripheral blood naïve, central memory, effector memory, or terminally differentiated effector cells (TEMRA) CD8 T cell subsets between CPPS/CP patients and healthy controls, the CD8 TEMRA cell subset from CPPS/CP patients exhibited significantly elevated expression of IFNγ and TNF and an enriched inflammatory pathway signature compared to controls ( 74 ). Although very interesting, these results remain to be confirmed by further research since only 2 CPPS/CP patients and 2 healthy controls were analyzed ( 74 ). Therefore, the role of CD8 T cells in the pathogenesis of CPPS/CP remains uncertain and warrants further investigation.…”