Researchers mapped 24-hour gene expression cycles across major cell types in the colon following tissue injury, according to a peer-reviewed study published by Nature Communications. The team used single-cell transcriptomics to evaluate how daily rhythms operate across functionally distinct cells in the large intestine.
Daily transcript oscillations varied widely across cell populations rather than operating uniformly. Circadian clock components, target genes, and systemic response programs differed in timing based on cell type, tissue region, and injury status. Stromal and muscle cells maintained robust circadian clock rhythms, while epithelial cells demonstrated weaker oscillations.
During tissue regeneration, cells across the epithelium, stroma, and immune system showed strong biphasic rhythms in metabolic, protein processing, and temperature response genes. The study also found that epithelial clocks reprogrammed to become 12 hours antiphasic in timing following injury.
Vania Carmona-Alcocer and Cédric Gobet contributed equally as lead authors on the paper. The research team included Jessie MacDonald, Zainab Taleb, and Phillip Karpowicz from the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Windsor in Canada, alongside Felix Naef from the Institute of Bioengineering at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland.
Genomics work was carried out at the Princess Margaret Genomics Centre. Research funding was provided by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario Research Fund, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Swiss National Science Foundation.
