Transcriptomic Response to Calcium in Normal Colon Organoids is Impacted by Colon Location and Sex

Observational studies indicate that calcium supplementation may protect against colorectal cancer. Stratified analyses suggest that this protective effect may differ based on anatomic subsite and sex, but these hypotheses have been difficult to test experimentally. Here, we exposed 36 patient-derived organoid lines derived from normal colon biopsies (21 right colons, 15 left colons) of unrelated subjects (18 female, 18 male) to moderate (1.66 mmol/L) or high (5.0 mmol/L) concentrations of calcium for 72 hours. We performed bulk RNA-sequencing to measure gene expression, and cell composition was inferred using single-cell deconvolution in CIBERSORTx. We tested for significant differences in gene expression using generalized linear models in DESeq2. Exposure to higher levels of calcium was associated with changes in cell composition (P < 0.05), most notably increased goblet and reduced stem cell populations, and differential expression of 485 genes (FDR < 0.05). We found that 40 of these differentially expressed genes mapped to genomic loci identified through colorectal cancer genome-wide association studies, suggesting a potential biologic overlap between calcium supplementation and inherited colorectal cancer risk. Stratified analyses identified more differentially expressed genes in colon organoids derived from right sided colon and male subjects than those derived from left sided colon and female subjects. We confirmed the presence of a stronger right-sided effect for one of these genes, HSD17B2 using qPCR in a subset of matched right and left colon organoids (n = 4). By relating our findings to genetic data, we provide new insights into how nutritional and genetic factors may interact to influence colorectal cancer risk.

A chemopreventive role for calcium in colorectal cancer is still unclear. Here, we identify mechanisms through which calcium supplementation may reduce risk. Calcium supplementation increased differentiation and altered expression of colorectal cancer-related genes in a large study of patient-derived colon organoids. These findings were influenced by colon location and sex.