138 Single-cell RNA-seq of dorsal root ganglion reveals neuroinflammatory process in atopic dermatitis

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease, the pathology of which is characterized by barrier dysfunction, microbiome shift, immune dysregulation initiated by a severe itching sensation. Because of its pathophysiological and clinical significance, research on understanding the mechanism of itch and finding new therapeutic targets on it has been highlighted recently. To dissect the cellular/molecular changes associated with itch, we obtained a total of six mouse dorsal root ganglion tissues; three from atopic dermatitis-induced NC/Nga mice and another three from control mice, and performed single-cell RNA sequencing. Among non-neuronal cells, proportions of neutrophil and macrophage increased in atopic dermatitis, which implies the presence of neuroinflammation. Non-peptidergic neurons, which have nociceptors transmitting itching sensation, occupy a larger proportion among neurons in atopic dermatitis, compared to the control. As the first single-cell transcriptome analysis of atopic dermatitis mouse DRG, our study provides insight into how itching sensation manifests itself on a single cell level in atopic dermatitis.