A single-cell transcriptional landscape of immune cells shows disease-specific changes of T cell and macrophage populations in human achalasia

Abstract

Achalasia is a rare motility disorder of the esophagus caused by the gradual degeneration of myenteric neurons. Immune-mediated ganglionitis has been proposed to underlie the loss of myenteric neurons. Here, we measure the immune cell transcriptional profile of paired lower esophageal sphincter (LES) tissue and blood samples in achalasia and controls using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). In achalasia, we identify a pattern of expanded immune cells and a specific transcriptional phenotype, especially in LES tissue. We show C1QC⁺ macrophages and tissue-resident memory T cells (T_RM), especially ZNF683⁺ CD8⁺ T_RM and XCL1⁺ CD4⁺ T_RM, are significantly expanded and localized surrounding the myenteric plexus in the LES tissue of achalasia. C1QC⁺ macrophages are transcriptionally similar to microglia of the central nervous system and have a neurodegenerative dysfunctional phenotype in achalasia. T_RM also expresses transcripts of dysregulated immune responses in achalasia. Moreover, inflammation increases with disease progression since immune cells are more activated in type I compared with type II achalasia. Thus, we profile the immune cell transcriptional landscape and identify C1QC⁺ macrophages and T_RM as disease-associated immune cell subsets in achalasia.