Charting the cellular biogeography in colitis reveals fibroblast trajectories and coordinated spatial remodeling. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38569542/)

These scientists wanted to understand how the cells in our gut interact with each other during inflammation, which is when our gut gets swollen and irritated. They used a special technique called multiplexed error-robust fluorescence in situ hybridization (MERFISH) to look at the genes of over 1 million cells in a mouse with colitis, a type of gut inflammation. By doing this, they were able to identify different types of cells, see how they are organized in the gut, and how they change during inflammation. They found that certain cells called fibroblasts play a big role in the process, and they discovered specific patterns of these cells in the inflamed gut. They also found that similar patterns exist in humans with a similar condition called ulcerative colitis. Overall, their study helps us understand how our gut changes during inflammation and may help us find new ways to treat these conditions in the future.

Cadinu P., Sivanathan KN., Misra A., Xu RJ., Mangani D., Yang E., Rone JM., Tooley K., Kye YC., Bod L., Geistlinger L., Lee T., Mertens RT., Ono N., Wang G., Sanmarco L., Quintana FJ., Anderson AC., Kuchroo VK., Moffitt JR., Nowarski R. Charting the cellular biogeography in colitis reveals fibroblast trajectories and coordinated spatial remodeling. Cell. 2024 Apr 1:S0092-8674(24)00254-X. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.03.013.