Figure 7. In vivo validation of fibroblast 5 co-localisation with immune cells.

(A) Single-cell RNA sequencing integration with spatial data using ‘anchor’-based integration workflow in Seurat to enable a prediction score for each spot for fibroblast 5. Based on this prediction score, fibroblast 5 is confirmed spatially restricted. (B) Multiplex mRNA in situ hybridisation of a representative section of human oral mucosa using specific probes against RAC2 and LCP1 (fibroblast 5 markers), CD14 (macrophages), and CD79A (B cells) to validate in vivo localisation of fibroblast 5 and immune cell populations. Scale bars: 250 µm. (C) Schematic illustration of our proposed model summarising pathogenic fibroblast population role in human oral chronic disease. Created with Biorender.