Fecal exfoliome sequencing captures immune dynamics of the healthy and inflamed gut.

Foli-seq enables robust, accurate, sensitive, quantitative profiling of fecal exfoliated eukaryotic messenger RNAs, capturing immune and intestinal dynamics in murine colitis models and IBD patients.

• Why it matters: Feces contain shed host epithelial, secretory, and immune cells, but RNA profiling is hindered by degradation and cross-contamination, limiting insight into gut immune function during health and inflammation.
• What they did: The study introduces exfoliome sequencing (Foli-seq) to profile fecal exfoliated eukaryotic messenger RNAs from upper and lower gastrointestinal regions, using selective amplification of targeted transcripts and combining exfoliome with microbiome profiling.
• The result: In murine colitis models, feRNA tracks temporal epithelial damage, immune response, and recovery by inflammation type, and in inflammatory bowel disease it stratifies patients into subgroups linked to disease severity.

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