Inflammatory Fibroblast Activation
Gene co-expression module in Fibroblasts
| Category | Inflammatory |
|---|---|
| Genes | 8 |
| Annotation certainty | 3 of 5 |
| Annotation consistency | 5 of 8 genes have a known function matching the annotation |
Why this annotation
Top hub CHRDL2 is a BMP antagonist upregulated in inflammatory fibroblast subsets. RARRES1 is a retinoic acid-responsive gene induced in activated stromal cells. CFB encodes complement factor B, part of the alternative complement pathway activated in IBD stroma. CLU (clusterin) is a complement-associated chaperone also upregulated in inflammatory contexts. The module is significantly upregulated in both UC and CD inflammation and downregulated in remission, strongly supporting an inflammation-activated fibroblast program. As a neighbor to M24 (quiescent PI16+ fibroblasts), this module likely represents the activated counterpart of the same stromal lineage.
Genes
CDON, CFB, CHRDL2, CLU, FAM20A, MID1, RARRES1, STEAP2
Most correlated modules
- Inflammation-activated ECM · correlation 0.75
- Complement-producing Fibroblast · correlation 0.73
- Activated Myofibroblast State · correlation 0.65
- Neural-crest Fibroblast · correlation 0.63
- NF-κB Inflammatory Activation · correlation 0.59
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.