From Drug Target Review
Pandurangan Vijayanand from the La Jolla Institute for Immunology, who led this study with long-time collaborator Dr Christian Ottensmeier, explained that the team used an analytical method that they developed themselves. They used single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to analyse the RNA molecules expressed by CD4+ T cells that specifically recognise SARS-CoV-2; this allowed them to reveal the complete nature of the cells that respond to the novel coronavirus.
“Single-cell RNA-seq technology involves looking at every RNA molecule in a cell and then based on that, you identify the message that cell is conveying,” he said.