Elucidating the fibrotic niche and cellular dynamics in crohn's disease-associated fibrostenosis

Fibrostenosis is a common and debilitating complication of Crohn's disease (CD), characterized by intestinal fibrosis, excessive extracellular matrix deposition, and luminal narrowing, for which effective antifibrotic therapies are lacking. To better understand the cellular landscape driving fibrosis, we performed high-resolution spatial transcriptomic analysis on ileal surgical samples from fibrostenotic CD patients, comparing strictured and non-strictured regions. This approach enabled us to delineate a distinct fibrotic niche enriched with stromal and immune cells, providing spatial context to the cellular interactions that underpin fibrotic remodeling in CD. Overall design: Ileal surgical tissues from CD patients, including strictured and non-strictured regions, were used for spatial transcriptomic analysis.