Redistribution of peripheral blood immune cell subsets and remodeling of intercellular communication in rare Behçet's disease: a single-cell transcriptomics study

Behçet's disease is a rare chronic systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology. Researchers analyzed single-cell RNA sequencing from peripheral blood of 8 Behçet's disease patients and 8 healthy controls. They found monocyte redistribution: classical CD14+ monocytes were increased (8.54% versus 1.51%), while FCGR3A+ non-classical monocytes were decreased (3.04% versus 7.23%). They identified 86 upregulated and 84 downregulated genes enriched in interferon and inflammatory pathways. Nine genes selected by LASSO regression showed diagnostic potential, with IFI44L achieving an AUC of 0.734. Intercellular communication analysis revealed attenuated costimulatory signaling and enhanced type I interferon activation. The study provides new hypotheses for developing diagnostic biomarkers and communication-targeted therapeutic strategies in Behçet's disease.