近年来关节炎的发病率稳步上升，且其病理变化复杂。据调查显示，关节炎是全球范围内致残率最高的疾病之一。然而，目前在关节炎发病机制研究及治疗靶点的探索方面仍存在不足，因此迫切需要新的方法来揭示关节炎的发病机制。单细胞转录组测序（single-cell RNA sequencing，scRNA-seq）技术不仅可用于构建关节组织的细胞图谱，还可鉴定驱动疾病进展的关键细胞亚群及其分子靶点，解析单细胞水平的基因表达异质性。目前，大量研究将其应用到关节炎领域，为关节炎的发病机制研究及治疗靶点的开发提供新途径。系统梳理了scRNA-seq的技术优势，并探讨了该技术在关节炎发病机制及中药治疗研究中的应用前景和面临的挑战，为深入探究关节炎的发病机制及相关中药新药开发提供参考。

The incidence of arthritis has steadily increased in recent years, accompanied by complex pathological changes. Arthritis is among the leading causes of disability worldwide. However, research on its pathogenesis and therapeutic targets remains insufficient, necessitating novel approaches to elucidate disease mechanisms. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) enables not only the construction of cellular atlases of joint tissues but also the identification of key cell subpopulations and molecular targets driving disease progression, thereby resolving gene expression heterogeneity at the single-cell level. Increasingly applied in arthritis research, scRNA-seq offers new avenues for exploring pathogenesis and developing therapeutic targets. This review systematically summarizes the technical advantages of scRNA-seq, discusses its application prospects and challenges in arthritis pathogenesis and research on treatment with traditional Chinese medicine, and provides a reference for in-depth mechanistic studies and the development of novel Chinese herbal therapeutics.

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国家自然科学基金资助项目（82560758）；国家自然科学基金资助项目（82204590）；江西省自然科学基金资助项目（20252BAC240467，20224BAB216099）；中国博士后科学基金第七十三批面上资助（2023M731439）；江西省2025年度研究生创新专项资金项目（YC2025-S210）