Human and mouse transcriptome profiling identifies cross-species homology in pulmonary and lymph node mononuclear phagocytes

Abstract

The mononuclear phagocyte (MP) system consists of macrophages, monocytes, and dendritic cells (DCs). MP subtypes play distinct functional roles in steady-state and inflammatory conditions. Though murine MPs are well-characterized, their human homologs remain poorly understood. To address this gap, we created a gene expression compendium across 15-distinct human and 9-distinct murine MPs from lung, LN, blood, and spleen. This study identified corresponding human-mouse MP subtypes and determined marker genes shared or not between species counterparts. Unexpectedly, at the gene expression level, only 13-23% of the top 1000 marker genes overlapped in corresponding human-mouse MP counterparts, indicating a need for caution when translating mouse studies to human gene targets and functions. Lastly, CD88 was useful in both species to distinguish macrophage/monocytes from DCs. Our cross-species expression compendium serves as a resource for future translational studies to investigate beforehand whether pursuing specific MP subtypes, or gene will prove fruitful.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.