Single-cell transcriptome analysis reveals differential nutrient absorption functions in human intestine
Open accessAbstract
The intestine plays an important role in nutrient digestion and absorption, microbe defense, and hormone secretion. Although major cell types have been identified in the mouse intestinal epithelium, cell type–specific markers and functional assignments are largely unavailable for human intestine. Here, our single-cell RNA-seq analyses of 14,537 epithelial cells from human ileum, colon, and rectum reveal different nutrient absorption preferences in the small and large intestine, suggest the existence of Paneth-like cells in the large intestine, and identify potential new marker genes for human transient-amplifying cells and goblet cells. We have validated some of these insights by quantitative PCR, immunofluorescence, and functional analyses. Furthermore, we show both common and differential features of the cellular landscapes between the human and mouse ilea. Therefore, our data provide the basis for detailed characterization of human intestine cell constitution and functions, which would be helpful for a better understanding of human intestine disorders, such as inflammatory bowel disease and intestinal tumorigenesis.
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Residual iKAP tumor cells shared gene expression signatures with intestinal Paneth cells but differed from Paneth-like cells in the colon and Reg4+ deep crypt secretory cells.
“Comparative analysis revealed that residual tumor cells shared gene expression signatures with intestinal Paneth cells but differed from Paneth-like cells in the colon35(Figure S1G), as well as Reg4+ deep crypt secretory cells (Figure S1H), which are functionally analogous to Paneth cells in the murine colon.36,37”
From Paneth-like transition drives resistance to dual targeting of KRAS and EGFR in colorectal cancer (2026) · cites this paper as [35]
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- Authors
- Wang, Y., Song, W., Wang, J., Wang, T., Xiong, X., Qi, Z., Fu, W., Yang, X., & Chen, Y.-G.
- Affiliations
- Center for Life Sciences (CN)
- Tsinghua University (CN)
- Peking University Third Hospital (CN)
- Guangzhou Regenerative Medicine and Health Guangdong Laboratory (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Fu, Wei
- Yang, Xuerui
- Chen, Ye-Guang
- Venue
- Journal of Experimental Medicine
- Publisher
- Rockefeller University Press
- Published
- 2019-11-21
- Volume
- 217
- Issue
- 2
- ISSN
- 0022-1007 (ISSN-L)
- 1540-9538
- PMC
- PMC7041720
- OpenAlex
- W2990171578
- Cited by
- 399
- References
- 67
- Citations by year
- 2026: 43 · 2025: 70 · 2024: 68 · 2023: 62 · 2022: 75 · 2021: 49 · 2020: 29
- FWCI
- 12.65
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- The Journal of Experimental Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFA0103601, 2016YFC0906001)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (31330049, 81472855, 91540109)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Digestive system and related health
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
- Keywords
- human intestinal epithelium, nutrient absorption, single-cell transcriptomics, transit amplifying cells, goblet cells, cell type markers, ileum, colon, rectum, inflammatory bowel disease, intestinal tumorigenesis
- MeSH terms
- Nutrients, RNA-Seq, Animals, Cell Cycle, Cell Differentiation, Cells, Cultured, Humans, Ileum, Intestinal Absorption, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Organoids, Signal Transduction, Biomarkers, Paneth Cells, Goblet Cells, Cell Proliferation, Mice, Single-Cell Analysis, Transcriptome
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