RNA Seq of colonic Lgr5+ epithelial stem cells in Il22+/+ and Il22-/- mice during homeostasis and 24h after irradiation with 8 Gy

To investigate the influence of Interleukin-22 (IL-22) on colonic intestinal stem cells, we assessed gene expression in these cells during homeostasis and after induction of DNA damage. IL-22 is a lymphocyte-derived cytokine that targets exclusively non-hematopoietic cells. The receptor is expressed on intestinal epithelial cells, including Lgr5+ stem cells. The colonic Lgr5+ epithelial stem cells were highly purified as DAPI-EpCam+CD45-CD24MedLgr5+. DNA damage was induced by whole body irradiation with 8 Gy and cells were isolated 24h after exposure. The following populations were analyzed: Wildtype, unirradiated (Ctrl) Il22-/-, unirradiated (Ctrl) Wildtype, 24h after 8Gy Il22-/-, 24h after 8Gy