Early transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of CD8(+) T cell differentiation revealed by single-cell RNA-seq

During microbial infection, responding CD8(+) T lymphocytes differentiate into heterogeneous subsets that together provide immediate and durable protection. To elucidate the dynamic transcriptional changes that underlie this process, we applied a single-cell RNA sequencing approach and analyzed individual CD8(+) T lymphocytes sequentially throughout the course of a viral infection in vivo. Our analyses revealed a striking transcriptional divergence among cells that had undergone their first division and identified previously unknown molecular determinants controlling CD8(+) T lymphocyte fate specification. These findings suggest a model of terminal effector cell differentiation initiated by an early burst of transcriptional activity and subsequently refined by epigenetic silencing of transcripts associated with memory lymphocytes, highlighting the power and necessity of single-cell approaches.