Single-cell transcriptomes from turtle livers reveal sensitivity of hepatic immune cells to bacteria-infection

The liver is important in the synthesis, metabolism and storage of nutrients, detoxification and immune response of the body, and the liver immune response against exogenous pathogens from the intestinal tract plays a key role in the immune activities. However, the cellular composition of the liver immune atlas remains sparsely studied in reptiles. We used single-cell RNA sequencing to identify the cellular profile of the liver of the Chinese soft-shelled turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis). We obtained the transcriptional landscape based on 9938 cells from the fractionation of fresh hepatic tissues from two individuals, uninfected and infected with bacteria (Aeromonas hydrophila). We identified seven hepatic immune cell subsets, including plasma, erythroid, T/NK, B, endothelial, dendritic and Kupffer cells. Bacteria-infection altered the number of liver immune cells, as revealed by the fact that the infected turtle had more plasma, endothelial and Kupffer cells and fewer T/NK, dendritic and erythroid cells than did the uninfected turtle. Our study is the first to provide a comprehensive view of the hepatic immune landscape of P. sinensis at the single-cell resolution that outlines the characteristics of immune cells in the turtle liver and provides a liver transcriptome baseline for turtle immunology.