Single-cell gene expression and TCR profiling reveal age-related differences in recent thymic emigrants

RTEs and found that they exhibit distinct phenotypes and functions. Paired single-cell transcriptomics and T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing showed that neonatal RTEs exhibit a more effector-like gene expression profile than adult RTEs, and the most pronounced effector-gene bias was found in neonatal RTEs that utilize germline-encoded TCRs. Collectively, these data reveal how the RTE pool changes during development and how TCR usage contributes to phenotypic heterogeneity in the neonatal and adult RTE pools.