Development of a Caco-2-based intestinal mucosal model to study intestinal barrier properties and bacteria-mucus interactions.

The intestinal mucosal barrier is a dynamic system that allows nutrient uptake, stimulates healthy microbe-host interactions, and prevents invasion by pathogens. The mucosa consists of epithelial cells connected by cellular junctions that regulate the passage of nutrients covered by a mucus layer that plays an important role in host-microbiome interactions. Mimicking the intestinal mucosa for assays, particularly the generation of a mucus layer, has proven to be challenging.

Multiplex spatial omics reveals changes in immune-epithelial crosstalk during inflammation and dysplasia development in chronic IBD patients.

Patients with long-standing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) face an increased risk of developing colitis-associated cancer (CAC). Although IBD-induced prolonged inflammation seems to be involved in CAC pathogenesis, the specific molecular changes that contribute remain unknown. Here, we applied digital spatial RNA profiling, RNAscope, and imaging mass cytometry to examine paired uninflamed, inflamed, and early dysplastic mucosa of patients with IBD.

Stromal localization of inactive CD8 T cells in metastatic mismatch repair deficient colorectal cancer.

Background: The determinants of metastasis in mismatch repair deficiency with high levels of microsatellite instability (MSI-H) in colorectal cancer (CRC) are poorly understood. Here, we hypothesized that distinct immune and stromal microenvironments in primary tumors may discriminate between non-metastatic MSI-H CRC and metastatic MSI-H CRC.

Methods: We profiled 46,727 single cells using high-plex imaging mass cytometry and analyzed both differential cell type abundance, and spatial distribution of fibroblasts and immune cells in primary CRC tumors with or without metastatic capacity.