Ulcerative Colitis: Novel Epithelial Insights Provided by Single Cell RNA Sequencing

Authors

Joao M. Serigado, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States
Jennifer Foulke-Abel, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
William C. Hines, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States
Joshua A. Hanson, Department of Pathology, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States
Julie In, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States ,Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
Olga Kovbasnjuk, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2022

Abstract

Ulcerative Colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestinal tract for which a definitive etiology is yet unknown. Both genetic and environmental factors have been implicated in the development of UC. Recently, single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technology revealed cell subpopulations contributing to the pathogenesis of UC and brought new insight into the pathways that connect genome to pathology. This review describes key scRNA-seq findings in two major studies by Broad Institute and University of Oxford, investigating the transcriptomic landscape of epithelial cells in UC. We focus on five major findings: (1) the identification of BEST4 + cells, (2) colonic microfold (M) cells, (3) detailed comparison of the transcriptomes of goblet cells, and (4) colonocytes and (5) stem cells in health and disease. In analyzing the two studies, we identify the commonalities and differences in methodologies, results, and conclusions, offering possible explanations, and validated several cell cluster markers. In systematizing the results, we hope to offer a framework that the broad scientific GI community and GI clinicians can use to replicate or corroborate the extensive new findings that RNA-seq offers.

Recommended Citation

Serigado JM, Foulke-Abel J, Hines WC, Hanson JA, In J, Kovbasnjuk O. Ulcerative Colitis: Novel Epithelial Insights Provided by Single Cell RNA Sequencing. Front Med (Lausanne). 2022 Apr 20;9:868508. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.868508. PMID: 35530046; PMCID: PMC9068527.