Genetic profiles of small intestinal and colonic metaplastic Paneth cells by spatial transcriptomics

Metaplasia is an epithelial alteration that appears in chronic inflammatory diseases. In ulcerative colitis, Paneth cell metaplasia (PCM) is a well-recognized feature, but its role in the inflamed epithelium remains unclear. Using spatial transcriptomics, we characterized the gene expression profile of PCM, elucidated its regulatory mechanisms, and clarified its functional role in the inflamed colonic epithelium. Overall design: Paired terminal ileum and colon biopsies were obtained from two ulcerative colitis patients during endoscopy. Spatial transcriptomics was performed on FFPE sections of these biopsy samples using the Visium HD platform (10x Genomics).