Work

A Single-Cell Atlas of Transcriptome Changes in the Intestinal Epithelium at the Suckling-to-Weaning Transition in Male Rabbits

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND & AIMS: The suckling-to-weaning dietary transition is a key step in intestinal development. The aim of our study was to identify the transcriptome changes induced in each cell type of the intestinal epithelium at the onset of solid food ingestion. METHODS: We compared the single-cell transcriptome of epithelial cells isolated from the cecum of age-matched littermate suckling male rabbits ingesting or not solid food. RESULTS: cells. Solid food upregulated the gene expression of the immunoglobulin transporter PIGR in cells located at the base of epithelial crypts and in goblet cells. In addition, solid food triggered epithelial differentiation, which was associated with modification of the expression of genes involved in handling of nutrients, as well as changes in hormone expression by enteroendocrine cells. These cell type-specific transcriptome modifications induced by solid food ingestion coincided with changes in microbiota composition and were replicated, in part, by butyrate in organoids. CONCLUSIONS: Our work provides a single-cell atlas of the transcriptome changes induced in the intestinal epithelium at the suckling-to-weaning transition.

Source: Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology

DOI: 10.1016/j.jcmgh.2025.101628