Ilia Kurochkin, Postdoctoral Researcher at Lund University, shared a post on LinkedIn about an article he co-authored with colleagues:
” Out now!!! Our paper is now online in Cell Systems.
In our study, we developed REPROcode, a high-throughput, single-cell platform to systematically decode the combinatorial transcription factor (TF) logic to reprogram immune cell types with specialized functions.
We first validated REPROcode approach by reprogramming fibroblasts into cDC1-like cells, which let us identify minimal TF combinations, optimal TF stoichiometries, and key co-factors that improve reprogramming efficiency and fidelity.
Beyond fate conversion, REPROcode also pinpointed regulators that tune distinct cDC1 states, including immature, immunostimulatory, and CCR7⁺ migratory programs. We then scaled REPROcode to a curated set of 48 TFs enriched across DC lineages to build a hierarchical map of immune reprogramming logic across lineages. Finally, we demonstrated its versatility by identifying TF combinations that generate a functional NK-like lineage.
I’m especially proud of designing the experimental platform and developing the computational framework that disentangles high-dimensional TF combinations into interpretable rules, which allowed turning complex single-cell screens into a practical roadmap for engineering defined immune identities.
Thank you to Filipe Pereira, all of the co-authors, collaborators, and the funding agencies whose support made this work possible – especially the Cancer Research Institute (CRI). Another big thank you to Abigail A., Inês Caiado, Evelyn Halitzki, Diogo Cabral, Mariia Minaeva, Luís Oliveira to bringing the final version live.”
Title: A combinatorial transcription factor screening platform for immune cell reprogramming
Authors: Ilia Kurochkin, Abigail R Altman, Inês Caiado, Diogo Pértiga Cabral, Evelyn Halitzki, Mariia Minaeva, Olga Zimmermannová, Luís Henriques Oliveira, Dominik Klein, Malavika Nair, Daniel Oliveira, Laura Rabanal Cajal, Ramin Knittel, Cora Feick, Markus Ringnér, Marcel Martin, Branko Cirovic, Cristiana F Pires, Fabio F Rosa, Ewa Sitnicka, Fabian J Theis, Carlos Filipe Pereira
