Discrepant mRNA and Protein Expression in Immune Cells
Jiawei Li, Yi Zhang, Cheng Yang, Ruiming Rong
Abstract
With the development of single-cell mRNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), researchers have attempted to identify new methods for performing in-depth studies of immune cells. However, the discrepancies between the mRNA levels and the levels of surface proteins have confused many researchers. Here, we report a significant and interesting phenomenon in which the mRNA and protein expression levels were mismatched in immune cells. We concluded that scRNA-seq should be combined with other sequencing methods in single-cell studies (e.g., CITE-seq). The simultaneous assessment of both mRNA and protein expression will enhance the precision and credibility of the results.
Topics & Concepts
Messenger RNAImmune systemCredibilityBiologyCellComputational biologyProtein expressionGene expressionCell biologyGeneImmunologyMolecular biologyBioinformaticsGeneticsPolitical scienceLawSingle-cell and spatial transcriptomicsImmune Cell Function and InteractionImmune cells in cancer