Single Cell Atlas of Murine Crypt with Acute Radiation Enteritis

Abstract

Although intestinal stem cells (ISC) from the basement of the intestinal crypt play an essential role in intestinal mucosal repair and epithelial regeneration, and stem cell transplantation is effective in treating rats and dogs with radioactive enteritis, there is still a dearth of relevant research. We performed extensive single-cell sequencing of colon crypts and immune cells in irradiated enteritis mice. We presented the significant differences in cell clusters of mice intestinal crypts after radiation, and further identified the significantly differentially expressed gene PLAC8, a novel specific marker of radio-inflammatory damage in Goblet cells. Our results further confirm the plasticity of Goblet cells in radiation enteritis, and the upregulation of the PLAC8 gene promotes Goblet cells' involvement in epithelial regeneration, providing new insights into the molecular pathways of radiation injury-induced regeneration and fundamental data for the treatment of radiation enteritis.