Fig. 5: Increased TGM2 expression identifies AGT-fibroblasts as a distinct subpopulation in CAFs and NAFs.

a TGM2 is a reliable marker for AGT-fibroblasts as depicted by positive Pearson correlation between TGM2 and AGT in the fibroblasts of the scRNA-seq dataset (23 CRC and 10 matching normal colon tissues) and b high expression in these cells. c Co-staining of CAFs (CAF#3) with TGM2 and ITGA3 and α-SMA illustrates that the AGT-subpopulation is different from CAFs/myofibroblasts and stably preserved in culture. Arrowheads show TGM2 expressing cells, ITGA3 and α-SMA expressing cells are indicated by arrows. Scalebar represents 50 μm. d Stromal TGM2 expression can be found in mesenchymal, vimentin-positive cells both in normal colon and CRC tissues (arrowheads). Scalebar represents 100 μm. e Vimentin positive TGM2 expressing fibroblasts (arrowheads) are distinct from ITGA3 and α-SMA expressing CAFs in CRC tissues and ADH1B expressing NAFs in normal colon tissues (arrows). Scalebar represents 250 μm. Nuclei are contrasted with DAPI or DRAQ5 (blue). #, patient numbers as detailed in Supplementary Tables S1, S2.