Large-Scale Skin scRNA-Seq Profiling Highlights Distinct Body Site-Specific Ligand-Receptor Interactions and Pathways in Keratinocytes

This study conducted scRNA-seq on 96 biopsies from 51 healthy individuals across 7 anatomic sites to understand skin biology and cell-cell interactions. Analyzing 274,834 cells, with a focus on 87,213 keratinocytes, the researchers identified 36 significant signaling pathways, 11 of which were common across all sites. Unique pathways were found in facial and palmoplantar skin, with palmoplantar skin showing enriched Tenascin signaling and lacking PARs and MIF signaling, while facial skin exhibited significant WNT, TGFb, and TRAIL pathway activity. These findings highlight distinct cell-cell communication patterns that may explain the predisposition to specific skin diseases in different body regions.