Metazoans employ cytoprotective and regenerative strategies to maintain tissue homeostasis. Understanding the coordination of these strategies is critical to develop accurate models for aging and associated diseases. Here we show that cytoprotective Jun-N-terminal Kinase (JNK) signaling influences regeneration in the Drosophila gut by directing proliferation of intestinal stem cells (ISCs). Interestingly, this function of JNK contributes to the loss of tissue homeostasis in old and stressed intestines by promoting the accumulation of mis-differentiated ISC daughter cells. Ectopic Delta/Notch signaling in these cells causes their abnormal differentiation, but also limits JNK-induced proliferation. Protective JNK signaling, and control of cell proliferation and differentiation by Delta/Notch signaling thus have to be carefully balanced to ensure tissue homeostasis. Our findings suggest that this balance is lost in old animals, increasing the potential for neoplastic transformation.

Summary Interactions between commensals and the host impact the metabolic and immune status of metazoans. Their deregulation is associated with age-related pathologies like chronic inflammation and cancer, especially in barrier epithelia. Maintaining a healthy commensal population by preserving innate immune homeostasis in such epithelia thus promises to promote health and longevity. Here we show that in the aging intestine of Drosophila, chronic activation of the transcription factor Foxo reduces expression of Peptidoglycan Recognition Protein SC2 (PGRP-SC2), a negative regulator of IMD/Relish innate immune signaling, and homologue of the anti-inflammatory molecules PGLYRP1-4. This repression causes deregulation of Rel/NFkB activity, resulting in commensal dysbiosis, stem cell hyperproliferation, and epithelial dysplasia. Restoring PGRP-SC2 expression in enterocytes of the intestinal epithelium, in turn, prevents dysbiosis, promotes tissue homeostasis and extends lifespan. Our results highlight the importance of commensal control for lifespan of metazoans, and identify SC-class PGRPs as longevity-promoting factors.

Aging of a eukaryotic organism is affected by its nutrition state and by its ability to prevent or repair oxidative damage. Consequently, signal transduction systems that control metabolism and oxidative stress responses influence life span. When nutrients are abundant, the insulin/IGF signaling (IIS) pathway promotes growth and energy storage but shortens life span. The transcription factor Foxo, which is inhibited by IIS, extends life span in conditions of low IIS activity. Life span can also be increased by activating the stress-responsive Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway. Here we show that JNK requires Foxo to extend life span in Drosophila. JNK antagonizes IIS, causing nuclear localization of Foxo and inducing its targets, including growth control and stress defense genes. JNK and Foxo also restrict IIS activity systemically by repressing IIS ligand expression in neuroendocrine cells. The convergence of JNK signaling and IIS on Foxo provides a model to explain the effects of stress and nutrition on longevity.

Regenerative processes are critical to maintain tissue homeostasis in high-turnover tissues. At the same time, proliferation of stem and progenitor cells has to be carefully controlled to prevent hyper-proliferative diseases. Mechanisms that ensure this balance, thus promoting proliferative homeostasis, are expected to be critical for longevity in metazoans. The intestinal epithelium of Drosophila provides an accessible model in which to test this prediction. In aging flies, the intestinal epithelium degenerates due to over-proliferation of intestinal stem cells (ISCs) and mis-differentiation of ISC daughter cells, resulting in intestinal dysplasia. Here we show that conditions that impair tissue renewal lead to lifespan shortening, whereas genetic manipulations that improve proliferative homeostasis extend lifespan. These include reduced Insulin/IGF or Jun-N-terminal Kinase (JNK) signaling activities, as well as over-expression of stress-protective genes in somatic stem cell lineages. Interestingly, proliferative activity in aging intestinal epithelia correlates with longevity over a range of genotypes, with maximal lifespan when intestinal proliferation is reduced but not completely inhibited. Our results highlight the importance of the balance between regenerative processes and strategies to prevent hyperproliferative disorders and demonstrate that promoting proliferative homeostasis in aging metazoans is a viable strategy to extend lifespan.