Single-Cell Studies of Intestinal Stem Cell Heterogeneity During Homeostasis and Regeneration.

Single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) provides a unique opportunity to study heterogeneous cell populations within tissues, including the intestinal epithelium, to gain detailed molecular insights into their biology. Many new putative markers of intestinal stem cells and their progeny have been described using single-cell transcriptomics, which has contributed to the identification of novel subpopulations of mature cell types and insight into their developmental trajectories. This approach has revealed tremendous cellular heterogeneity within the intestinal epithelium that is concordant with its diverse and multifaceted functions. We discuss the function of these subpopulations during tissue homeostasis, as well as putative subpopulations with inducible regenerative potential following tissue injury.