Back

A Fine-Tuned Phosphatidylinositol Profile Contributes to Colonocyte Differentiation and Malignization: Evidence From Integrated Omics

Maimo-Barcelo, A.; Bestard-Escalas, J.; Perez-Romero, K.; Martin-Saiz, L.; Muncunill-Fortuny, J.; Crespi, C.; Martinez, M. A.; Martin, L.; Lopez, D. H.; Martin, G. P.; Olea, J. M.; Fernandez, J. A.; Rodriguez, R. M.; Barcelo-Coblijn, G.

2026-02-22 systems biology
10.64898/2026.02.20.706976 bioRxiv
Show abstract

Membrane lipid composition changes concomitantly with human colonocyte differentiation, a tightly regulated process occurring along the colon crypt. This process is heavily disrupted in colon cancer. Nonetheless, the regulatory mechanisms driving these changes, especially the replacement of arachidonic acid phosphatidylinositol species with monounsaturated fatty acid species, and how they are altered in cancer, remain unknown. To establish the transcriptional networks underlying this remodeling, we integrated transcriptomic and lipidomic profiles of isolated healthy and tumor human colonocytes using system biology approaches; identifying key gene regulatory networks involved in arachidonic acid and eicosanoid metabolism and phosphatidylinositol cycle as significant regulators during differentiation. Consistently, a distinct impact was found on organoid differentiation depending on colonocyte subtype and specific prostaglandin. Remarkably, the shift and associated transcriptomic programs were lost in tumor that heightened phosphoinositide metabolism. Altogether, these results underscore the importance of lipid remodeling in colonocyte stemness maintenance and proper onset of differentiation programs.

Matching journals

The top 10 journals account for 50% of the predicted probability mass.

1
Nature Communications
4913 papers in training set
Top 16%
10.5%
2
Cell Reports
1338 papers in training set
Top 6%
6.9%
3
iScience
1063 papers in training set
Top 1%
6.4%
4
Developmental Cell
168 papers in training set
Top 3%
6.4%
5
EMBO reports
136 papers in training set
Top 0.5%
4.3%
6
Advanced Science
249 papers in training set
Top 4%
4.3%
7
eLife
5422 papers in training set
Top 22%
4.0%
8
Cell Systems
167 papers in training set
Top 4%
3.6%
9
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
218 papers in training set
Top 2%
3.1%
10
npj Systems Biology and Applications
99 papers in training set
Top 0.7%
2.8%
50% of probability mass above
11
Scientific Reports
3102 papers in training set
Top 45%
2.6%
12
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
2130 papers in training set
Top 27%
2.1%
13
Communications Biology
886 papers in training set
Top 5%
2.1%
14
Cancer Cell
38 papers in training set
Top 1.0%
1.7%
15
JCI Insight
241 papers in training set
Top 4%
1.7%
16
Cancers
200 papers in training set
Top 3%
1.3%
17
Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal
216 papers in training set
Top 6%
1.3%
18
EMBO Molecular Medicine
85 papers in training set
Top 3%
1.2%
19
Cell Communication and Signaling
35 papers in training set
Top 0.7%
1.1%
20
Molecular Omics
21 papers in training set
Top 0.2%
1.0%
21
Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy
29 papers in training set
Top 1%
0.9%
22
Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences
84 papers in training set
Top 0.5%
0.9%
23
Cell Stem Cell
57 papers in training set
Top 2%
0.8%
24
Cancer Research
116 papers in training set
Top 3%
0.8%
25
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
453 papers in training set
Top 15%
0.8%
26
Gastroenterology
40 papers in training set
Top 2%
0.7%
27
Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research
25 papers in training set
Top 0.3%
0.7%
28
Cells
232 papers in training set
Top 7%
0.7%
29
Biomolecules
95 papers in training set
Top 3%
0.6%
30
Matrix Biology
28 papers in training set
Top 0.4%
0.6%