Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) of PBMCs allows in-depth assessment of transcriptional changes in immune cells of COVID-19 patients. However, collecting, processing, and analyzing samples from COVID-19 patients pose many challenges because blood samples may contain infectious virus, identification of immune cell subtypes can be difficult, and biological interpretation of analytical results is complex. To address these issues, we describe a protocol for sample processing, sorting, methanol fixation and scRNA-seq analysis of PBMCs from frozen buffy coat samples from COVID-19 patients.
Sample processing and single cell RNA-sequencing of peripheral blood immune cells from COVID-19 patients