RNA-Seq of human gastric corpus and antrum

The goal is to better understand tissue-specific physiology and pathophysiology by investigating tissue-specific gene expression and gene regulation. Gastric corpus and antrum mucosa biopsies were collected during routine gastroscopies from healthy individuals. We analyzed the transcriptome and genetic regulatory profiles of two distinct gastric sites, corpus and antrum, to identify tissue-specific gene expression and its regulation. The transcriptome data from corpus and antral mucosa highlights the heterogeneity of gene expression in the stomach. We identified enriched pathways revealing distinct and common physiological processes in gastric corpus and antrum. Physiological differences are mostly related to digestion and epithelial protection. Furthermore, we found an enrichment of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based heritability of metabolic, obesity-related, and cardiovascular traits and diseases by considering corpus- and antrum-specifically expressed genes. In particular, we could prioritize gastric-specific candidate genes for multiple metabolic traits, like NQO1 which is involved in glucose metabolism, MUC1 which contributes to purine and protein metabolism or RAB27B being a regulator of weight and body composition.