ICC niche interactaion
Gene co-expression module in Fibroblasts
| Category | Gut motility |
|---|---|
| Genes | 19 |
| Annotation certainty | 4 of 5 |
| Annotation consistency | 14 of 19 genes have a known function matching the annotation |
Why this annotation
Hub genes KCNJ8 (Kir6.1, pericyte/vascular smooth muscle marker), NOTCH3 (canonical pericyte/vascular smooth muscle marker), ABCC9 (SUR2B, pericyte K-ATP channel subunit), HOPX (quiescent pericyte/stem cell marker), RERGL (smooth muscle-enriched RERG-like GTPase), ITGA7 (integrin alpha-7, smooth muscle/pericyte), FHL5 (four-and-a-half LIM domain, smooth muscle), and ANO1 (anoctamin-1/TMEM16A, interstitial cells of Cajal and smooth muscle) collectively define a pericyte/vascular smooth muscle/ICC signature. ESAM and ADGRF5 suggest minor endothelial admixture. LGI4 and SNCG indicate peripheral nerve/Schwann cell contribution. The strong delta_inflammation_UC = 0.612 (significant) may reflect vascular remodeling in UC inflammation. Very low expression (0.009, 0.6% positive) with uniform distribution confirms this is contamination from pericytes or smooth muscle cells rather than a fibroblast program.
Genes
ABCC9, ADGRF5, ANO1, CD36, CFHR1, ESAM, FHL5, HOPX, HRH2, ITGA7, ITIH3, KCNA5, KCNJ8, LGI4, NOTCH3, RASGRP2, RERGL, SNCG, TINAGL1
Most correlated modules
- ICC electrophysiological machinery · correlation 0.54
- ICC contractility · correlation 0.49
- ICC neuromuscular junction · correlation 0.48
Module annotations were drafted by a large language model from the module's genes, then reviewed and approved by a domain expert. See sources & licences.