This paper presents a comprehensive study detailing the Immune Dictionary, a vast compendium of single-cell transcriptomic profiles mapping the responses of over seventeen immune cell types to eighty-six different cytokines in mouse lymph nodes in vivo. This research systematically reveals the highly cell-type-specific nature of cytokine responses and identifies over sixty-six distinct cytokine-driven cellular polarization states across the immune system. Furthermore, the authors introduce Immune Response Enrichment Analysis (IREA), a companion software designed to infer cytokine activity, immune cell polarization, and cell-cell communication networks from gene expression data, demonstrating its application in contexts like anti-PD-1 cancer therapy. Overall, the work provides a systematic framework for understanding the complex cytokine network and the plasticity of immune cells.

References:

• Cui A, Huang T, Li S, et al. Dictionary of immune responses to cytokines at single-cell resolution[J]. Nature, 2024, 625(7994): 377-384.