While the whole blood transcriptomics was helpful, it only provided a general picture of what was going on. Next, the scientists turned to a technique called CITE-seq. This allowed them to find out which cells were expressing which genes differently across males and females, and what specific proteins they were creating. The best part was that CITE-seq could be used with the same blood samples collected from the patients. “There’s only one type of sample, and you just measure the hell out of it,” Tsang says.
A particular type of cell seemed to be contributing to the response to the flu vaccine: effective-memory T cells (which are generated after an
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