Altered ileum epithelial and immune cell profiles in the intestine of patients with MS.
The intestinal epithelium plays a critical role in immune–microbiota interactions, yet its contribution to systemic autoimmunity remains unclear. Here, we identify intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) as key initiators of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a murine model of multiple sclerosis (MS). In MS patients, IECs upregulate antigen presentation–related genes and associate with increased intestinal Th17 cell accumulation. Overall design: Terminal ileum tissue samples were obtained by endoscopic tissue biopsy from healthy control (n=3) and patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) (n=4). Fresh-frozen human ileal biopsy sample were fixed and dissociated. Cells were analysed by 10x Genomics Chronium Single Cell Gene Expression Flex platform.