Social network architecture of human immune cells unveiled by quantitative proteomics

• DOI: 10.1038/ni.3693
• Publication Date: 2017-03-06T16:57:35Z
• Authors: Jan C Rieckmann; Roger Geiger; Daniel Hornburg; Tobias Wolf; Ksenya Kveler; David Jarrossay; Federica Sallusto; Shai S Shen-Orr; Antonio Lanzavecchia; Matthias Mann; Felix Meissner
• Keywords: Proteomics; 0301 basic medicine; Bodily Secretions; Immunity, Cellular; Blood Cells; Proteome; Social Support; Cell Communication; Mass Spectrometry; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Animals; Humans; Computer Simulation; Protein Interaction Maps

The immune system is unique in its dynamic interplay between numerous cell types. However, a system-wide view of how immune cells communicate to protect against disease has not yet been established. We applied high-resolution mass-spectrometry-based proteomics to characterize 28 primary human hematopoietic cell populations in steady and activated states at a depth of >10,000 proteins in total. Protein copy numbers revealed a specialization of immune cells for ligand and receptor expression, thereby connecting distinct immune functions. By integrating total and secreted proteomes, we discovered fundamental intercellular communication structures and previously unknown connections between cell types. Our publicly accessible (http://www.immprot.org/) proteomic resource provides a framework for the orchestration of cellular interplay and a reference for altered communication associated with pathology.