TY - JOUR TI - Single-cell analysis of mosquito hemocytes identifies signatures of immune cell subtypes and cell differentiation AU - Kwon, Hyeogsun AU - Mohammed, Mubasher AU - Franzén, Oscar AU - Ankarklev, Johan AU - Smith, Ryan C A2 - Lemaître, Bruno A2 - Banerjee, Utpal A2 - Giangrande, Angela A2 - Blandin, Stéphanie VL - 10 PY - 2021 DA - 2021/07/28 SP - e66192 C1 - eLife 2021;10:e66192 DO - 10.7554/eLife.66192 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.66192 AB - Mosquito immune cells, known as hemocytes, are integral to cellular and humoral responses that limit pathogen survival and mediate immune priming. However, without reliable cell markers and genetic tools, studies of mosquito immune cells have been limited to morphological observations, leaving several aspects of their biology uncharacterized. Here, we use single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to characterize mosquito immune cells, demonstrating an increased complexity to previously defined prohemocyte, oenocytoid, and granulocyte subtypes. Through functional assays relying on phagocytosis, phagocyte depletion, and RNA-FISH experiments, we define markers to accurately distinguish immune cell subtypes and provide evidence for immune cell maturation and differentiation. In addition, gene-silencing experiments demonstrate the importance of lozenge in defining the mosquito oenocytoid cell fate. Together, our scRNA-seq analysis provides an important foundation for future studies of mosquito immune cell biology and a valuable resource for comparative invertebrate immunology. KW - Anopheles gambiae KW - hemocytes KW - cellular immunity KW - single-cell rna-seq JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -