Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42898284›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in immunology2026

GART expression is associated with a proliferative and purine-metabolic ISC-like epithelial state in ulcerative colitis.

Jinchen Chong, Haoyu Ding, Jiaze Ma, Yuan Li, Jie Pan, Yang Li, Yugen Chen

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Article in Frontiers in immunology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Jinchen ChongThe Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Haoyu DingThe Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Jiaze MaThe Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Yuan LiThe Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Jie PanThe Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Yang LiThe Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Yugen ChenThe Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.

Funding

Chinese Medicine Treatment of Dominant Diseases (Clinical Evidence-based Competence Enhancement) Foundation K2023BZ02National Natural Science Foundation of China 82341229Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD)
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: To characterize the epithelial state associated with GART expression in ulcerative colitis (UC) and determine whether this association reflects a GART-specific program or a broader proliferative and purine-metabolic phenotype. Methods: Four independent bulk transcriptomic cohorts were analyzed and synthesized by random-effects meta-analysis. Human colonic scRNA-seq datasets (GSE214695 and SCP259) were integrated, with principal comparisons repeated using donor-aware pseudobulk or mixed-effects approaches and adjustment for sequencing depth, gene detection, and cell-cycle covariates. GART detection was defined from raw counts and tested using alternative thresholds. Pseudotime, scTenifoldKnk, CellChat/LIANA, and transcriptional-network analyses were used as exploratory analyses. Spatial transcriptomics (GSE189184), human colonic multiplex immunofluorescence, and acute DSS-induced colitis tissues were used for tissue-level localization. Results: Across the four bulk cohorts, GART expression showed an overall increase in UC (pooled Hedges' g = 0.743, 95% CI 0.239-1.248; P = 0.0183). In the single-cell atlas, GART detection localized preferentially to an ISC-like epithelial compartment, although the magnitude of the UC-associated detection difference varied between cohorts. Within UC ISC-like cells, donor-paired pseudobulk analyses identified proliferative and nucleotide-metabolic transcriptional differences associated with GART detection. Across the broader ISC-like epithelial atlas, donor-aware module analyses showed positive associations of GART detection with purine-biosynthesis, DNA-replication, DNA-repair, and mitotic programs, and these associations remained positive within cell-cycle strata. Comparison with other Conclusion: GART identifies a proliferative and purine-metabolic ISC-like epithelial state in UC but is not established as a specific driver of epithelial regeneration. The findings support an association between GART detection, nucleotide-demand programs, proliferative epithelial activity, and the inflammatory tissue context, providing a framework for future direct functional studies.

Indexed as

Carbon-Nitrogen LigasesColitis, UlcerativeEpithelial CellsIntestinal MucosaPurinesAnimalsCell ProliferationColonHumansTranscriptomeCarbon-Nitrogen LigasespurinePurinesepithelial proliferationGARTintestinal stem cell-like epithelial cellspurine metabolismulcerative colitis

Identifiers

PMID42898284
PMCPMC13677702

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