RNA sequencing of purified intestinal epithelial cells from paediatric biopsies including Inflammatory Bowel Disease and healthy controls

This study investigated alterations in the transcriptomic profiles of intestinal epithelial cells in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD), i.e. Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Biopsies were taken from treatment-naive paediatric patients at diagnostic endoscopy from terminal ileum (TI), ascending colon (AC) and sigmoid colon (SC). Intestinal epithelial cells were purified using enzyme digestion and magnetic bead separation. RNA extraction was performed on EpCAM-positive cells, using AllPrep DNA/RNA mini kit. An Agilent Bioanalyzer was used to check RNA integrity following the manufacturer's guidelines. mRNA was sequenced at the University of Kiel, Germany.