---
title: "Keloid transcriptomics: fibroblast subtype and immune cell heterogeneity revealed"
id: "biorxiv-10-keloid-transcriptomics-reveal-heterogeneity-in-fibroblast-subtype-enrichment"
canonical_url: "https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/biorxiv-10-keloid-transcriptomics-reveal-heterogeneity-in-fibroblast-subtype-enrichment"
content_type: "clinical_feed_article"
specialty: "General"
source_name: "bioRxiv (Biomedical Preprints)"
source_url: "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.02.747090v1?rss=1"
published_at: "2026-09-07T12:00:00.000Z"
evidence_level: "Verified Feed"
license: "CC-BY-NC-4.0 / Informational Use"
---
# Keloid transcriptomics: fibroblast subtype and immune cell heterogeneity revealed
## Provenance & Clinical Metadata
- **Canonical URL:** https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/biorxiv-10-keloid-transcriptomics-reveal-heterogeneity-in-fibroblast-subtype-enrichment
- **Specialty:** [General](https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/general.md)
- **Primary Source:** bioRxiv (Biomedical Preprints)
- **Source URL:** [Original Journal Publication](https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.02.747090v1?rss=1)
- **Published At:** 2026-09-07T12:00:00.000Z
- **Evidence Rating:** Verified Feed
## Executive GIST (TL;DR)
- The study used bulk RNA-Seq of head and neck keloid tissue and matched adjacent normal skin tissue (MANST) from 14 patients (10 African American, 4 European American) to assess cell type composition and gene expression in keloid disease (KD). - Cell type enrichment was estimated with single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (**ssGSEA**). Linear mixed-effects models tested differential enrichment, tissue-specific associations, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs). - Three **fibroblast** subtypes and 14 immune cell types were differentially enriched between keloid tissue and MANST. - Seventeen tissue type–specific associations between fibroblast subtypes and immune cells were identified; 14 of these showed decreased association in keloid tissue compared with MANST. - After adjusting for cell type enrichment, two DEGs showed the largest changes: **MIR31HG** (largest positive fold-change) and **NR4A2** (largest negative fold-change). - Validation was performed in an independent cohort of eight African American individuals; the source reports validation but does not detail exact validation results in the abstract. - By accounting for cell type composition, the analysis revealed tissue-specific cell type and gene expression relationships that are not evident from bulk gene expression alone. - The authors report no competing interests and list funding sources including Henry Ford Health, NIH (K08GM128156), American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and NIAMS (R01AR083553).
## Clinical Analysis & Structured Key Points
Keloid transcriptomics reveal heterogeneity in fibroblast subtype enrichment, gene expression, and immune cell responses | bioRxiv Skip to main content New Results Keloid transcriptomics reveal heterogeneity in fibroblast subtype enrichment, gene expression, and immune cell responses View ORCID Profile Jonathan J Panzer , View ORCID Profile Mingming Pan , View ORCID Profile Mrudula Nair , View ORCID Profile Ian M Loveless , View ORCID Profile Indra Adrianto , View ORCID Profile Ling Huang , View ORCID Profile Dhananjay Chitale , View ORCID Profile Ralph Francescone , View ORCID Profile Debora B Vendramini-Costa , View ORCID Profile Cristina de Guzman Strong , View ORCID Profile Albert M Levin , View ORCID Profile Lamont R Jones doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.02.747090 Jonathan J Panzer Henry Ford Health Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Jonathan J Panzer Mingming Pan Henry Ford Health Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Mingming Pan Mrudula Nair Henry Ford Health Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Mrudula Nair Ian M Loveless Henry Ford Health Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Ian M Loveless Indra Adrianto Henry Ford Health Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Indra Adrianto Ling Huang Henry Ford Health Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Ling Huang Dhananjay Chitale Henry Ford Health Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Dhananjay Chitale Ralph Francescone Henry Ford Health Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Ralph Francescone Debora B Vendramini-Costa Henry Ford Health Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Debora B Vendramini-Costa Cristina de Guzman Strong Henry Ford Health Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Cristina de Guzman Strong Albert M Levin Henry Ford Health Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Albert M Levin Lamont R Jones Henry Ford Health Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Lamont R Jones For correspondence: ljones5{at}hfhs.org Abstract Info/History Metrics Supplementary material Preview PDF Abstract Keloid disease (KD) is a fibroproliferative skin disorder resulting from abnormal scar formation that causes pain, itching, and decreased quality of life. While multiple KD transcriptomic studies exist, the influence of cell type composition on bulk tissue gene expression is unknown. We characterized fibroblast subtype and immune cell enrichment using bulk RNA-Seq of head and neck keloid and matched adjacent normal skin tissue (MANST) from 14 patients (10 African American and 4 European American). Cell type enrichment was calculated by single sample gene set enrichment analysis. Linear mixed-effects models were employed for 1) differential cell type enrichment across tissue, 2) tissue type-specific associations between fibroblast subtypes and immune cells, and 3) differentially expressed genes (DEGs) across tissue. Validation was conducted in an independent cohort of 8 African Americans. Three fibroblast subtypes and 14 immune cell types were differentially enriched across tissue type. Further, 17 tissue type-specific fibroblast subtype-immune cell enrichment associations were identified, with 14 exhibiting decreased association in keloid tissue relative to MANST. After adjustment for cell type enrichment, MIR31HG and NR4A2 were significant DEGs with the largest positive and negative fold-changes, respectively. By considering cell type enrichment, underlying keloid tissue-specific cell type and gene expression associations were revealed. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funder Information Declared Henry Ford Health Game on Cancer , H10338 National Institutes of Health , K08GM128156 American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery , 350651/F19538 National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases , R01AR083553 Copyright The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license . Back to top Previous Next Posted September 07, 2026. Download PDF Supplementary Material Email Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv. NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article. Your Email * Your Name * Send To * Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. You are going to email the following Keloid transcriptomics reveal heterogeneity in fibroblast subtype enrichment, gene expression, and immune cell responses Message Subject (Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv Message Body (Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website. Your Personal Message CAPTCHA This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. Share Keloid transcriptomics reveal heterogeneity in fibroblast subtype enrichment, gene expression, and immune cell responses Jonathan J Panzer , Mingming Pan , Mrudula Nair , Ian M Loveless , Indra Adrianto , Ling Huang , Dhananjay Chitale , Ralph Francescone , Debora B Vendramini-Costa , Cristina de Guzman Strong , Albert M Levin , Lamont R Jones bioRxiv 2026.09.02.747090; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.02.747090 Share This Article: Copy Citation Tools Keloid transcriptomics reveal heterogeneity in fibroblast subtype enrichment, gene expression, and immune cell responses Jonathan J Panzer , Mingming Pan , Mrudula Nair , Ian M Loveless , Indra Adrianto , Ling Huang , Dhananjay Chitale , Ralph Francescone , Debora B Vendramini-Costa , Cristina de Guzman Strong , Albert M Levin , Lamont R Jones bioRxiv 2026.09.02.747090; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.02.747090 Citation Manager Formats BibTeX Bookends EasyBib EndNote (tagged) EndNote 8 (xml) Medlars Mendeley Papers RefWorks Tagged Ref Manager RIS Zotero Tweet Widget Facebook Like Google Plus One Subject Areas All Articles Animal Behavior and Cognition (7969) Biochemistry (18621) Bioengineering (14763) Bioinformatics (44144) Biophysics (22456) Cancer Biology (19583) Cell Biology (26737) Clinical Trials (138) Developmental Biology (13898) Ecology (20880) Epidemiology (2067) Evolutionary Biology (25313) Genetics (16098) Genomics (23397) Immunology (18606) Microbiology (42208) Molecular Biology (17938) Neuroscience (92883) Paleontology (693) Pathology (2969) Pharmacology and Toxicology (5063) Physiology (8062) Plant Biology (15901) Scientific Communication and Education (2091) Synthetic Biology (4538) Systems Biology (10183) Zoology (2376)
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