Single-cell analysis combined with transcriptome sequencing identifies autophagy hub genes in macrophages after spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a neurological disease characterized by the loss of motor and sensory function below the injury level. The pathogenesis of SCI is complex, involving the recruitment of various cells that play key roles in the injury area. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) can analyze cell heterogeneity and inter-cell communication. Bulk RNA-seq offers advantages such as low cost, mature technology and high throughput. Joint analysis of bulk RNA-seq and scRNA-seqis more complementary for exploring the pathophysiology of diseases. In this study, we revealed changes in cell clusters and intercellular signaling after SCI through the scRNA-seq analysis. Bioinformatics analyses and experimental verification showed that macrophages increase rapidly and become the dominant cell type after SCI. The mTOR gene is the key molecule of M1 macrophage autophagy blockade and the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway plays an important role in blockings macrophage autophagy.