{
  "abstract": "Background: Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is an auto-inflammatory disease or autoimmune disease that involves multiple immune cells. In this study, single-cell transcriptome sequencing (scRNA-seq) combined with cellular communication analysis were used to investigate immune characteristics of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in PMR patients.\n\nMethods: Three newly diagnosed PMR patients were recruited; their PBMCs were isolated and sequenced on the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 sequencing platform. The PBMCs scRNA-seq data of three normal controls were downloaded from the 10× Genomics platform for joint analysis.\n\nResults: Relative to healthy controls, PMR patients exhibited a reduced abundance of circulating T cells, alongside an expanded megakaryocyte/platelet compartment. At the T cell subset level, PMR was associated with an increased proportion of pro-inflammatory KIR ⁺ NK-like T cells, while CD4 ⁺ central memory T cells, effector memory T cells, and Th1 cells showed reductions in relative abundance. Circulating NK cell subsets were disproportionately represented in PMR patients; notably, the CD56 dim CD16 hi -ISG subset was exclusively detected in PMR cases. While no statistically meaningful shifts were observed in the global proportional distribution of B cells, the unswitched memory B cell compartment was absent in PMR patients. Multiple monocyte subsets annotated for elevated inflammatory and interferon-stimulated gene signatures, including CD14_Monocyte-ISG and CD16_Monocyte-IFITM1, were uniformly expanded in the PMR cohort. Functional enrichment analysis showed that the co-stimulation, cytotoxicity, antigen processing and presentation, and inflammation promotion of various immune cells in PMR patients were all enhanced. Key inflammatory pathways were widely activated, including the interferon-γ signaling pathway, interleukin-1β production, and NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Cellular communication analysis revealed more interactions but slightly weaker strength in PMRs, with increased communication in TGF-β and CD48 pathways.\n\nConclusions: This preliminary study may help to further elucidate the pathogenesis of PMR and provide a theoretical basis for identifying diagnostic markers and discovering new therapeutic targets.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Endocrinology and Rheumatology, Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences Affiliated Zhoupu Hospital",
    "Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University",
    "Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences Affiliated Zhoupu Hospital"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Tiantian Cai"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Qiu Qin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yanfei Jiang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Zhou Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ronghua Song"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jin-an Zhang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8htrqq5b39yf9.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fimmu.2026.1852877",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13724368/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "8htrqq5b39yf9",
  "issns": [
    "1664-3224"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1852877/full",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Original Research"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2740|Vasculitis and related conditions"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7220412205",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1852877/pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13724368",
  "pmid": "42973639",
  "published": "2026-10-19",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media SA",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8htrqq5b39yf9.ris",
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    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:17Z",
      "native_id": "10.3389/fimmu.2026.1852877",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1852877/full"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-03T15:20:50Z",
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      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13724368"
    },
    {
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  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "issn:1664-3224",
      "subfield": "immunology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Single-cell transcriptome sequencing analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells reveals immune signatures in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica",
  "title_text": "Single-cell transcriptome sequencing analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells reveals immune signatures in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-05T12:21:08Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8htrqq5b39yf9",
  "venue": "Frontiers in Immunology",
  "versions": []
}