Cited by 3RNA Research and SplicingSingle-cell and spatial transcriptomicsAdvanced Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques

Single-molecule imaging of transcription dynamics, RNA localization and fate in human T cells

Open access
Lattanzio, M Valeria, Šoštarić, Nikolina, Kanagasabesan, Nandhini, Popović, Branka, Bradarić, Antonia, Wardak, Leyma, Guislain, Aurélie, Savakis, Philipp +2 more·2025·The EMBO Journal

Published version of a preprint

Abstract

T cells are critical effector cells counteracting infections and malignancies. To achieve this, they produce pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IFN-γ and TNF. Cytokine production is a tightly regulated process, but the relative contribution of transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation to mRNA expression remains unknown. We optimized single-molecule FISH for primary human T cells (T-cell smFISH) to simultaneously quantify nascent RNA, levels of mature mRNA, and its localization with single-cell resolution. T-cell smFISH uncovered heterogeneous cytokine mRNA levels, with high cytokine producers displaying biallelic IFNG / TNF RNA transcription activity. Throughout activation, nuclear cytokine mRNAs accumulated, whereas cytoplasmic cytokine mRNA was degraded through translation-dependent decay. Lastly, T-cell smFISH uncovered cytokine-specific regulation by the RNA-binding protein HuR. Thus, T-cell smFISH provides novel insights in the intricate (post)-transcriptional processes in T cells.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1038/s44318-025-00592-0

Cites

86 of 86 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Lattanzio, M. V., Šoštarić, N., Kanagasabesan, N., Popović, B., Bradarić, A., Wardak, L., Guislain, A., Savakis, P., Tutucci, E., & Wolkers, M. C.
Affiliations
  • Sanquin (NL)
  • Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
Corresponding author
  • Tutucci, Evelina
  • Wolkers, Monika C
Venue
The EMBO Journal
Published
2025-10-14
Volume
44
Issue
22
Pages
6732-6749
ISSN
  • 0261-4189 (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-2075
OpenAlex
W4415141514
Cited by
3
References
86
Citations by year
2026: 3
FWCI
0.90
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The EMBO Journal (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Pure Amsterdam UMC (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • VU Research Portal (publishedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • EC | European Research Council (817533)
  • Oncode Institute (MCW)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA Research and Splicing
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biophysics › Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques
Keywords
T cells, single-molecule FISH, nascent RNA, cytokine mRNA, interferon-gamma, TNF-α, transcriptional regulation, post-transcriptional regulation, mRNA localization, HuR, cytokine gene expression, T cell activation
MeSH terms
ELAV-Like Protein 1, Single Molecule Imaging, Gene Expression Regulation, Humans, Interferon-gamma, RNA, Messenger, T-Lymphocytes, Transcription, Genetic, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha, Cytokines, In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review