Epithelial NEMO links innate immunity to chronic intestinal inflammation

Abstract

Deregulation of intestinal immune responses seems to have a principal function in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease. The gut epithelium is critically involved in the maintenance of intestinal immune homeostasis-acting as a physical barrier separating luminal bacteria and immune cells, and also expressing antimicrobial peptides. However, the molecular mechanisms that control this function of gut epithelial cells are poorly understood. Here we show that the transcription factor NF-kappaB, a master regulator of pro-inflammatory responses, functions in gut epithelial cells to control epithelial integrity and the interaction between the mucosal immune system and gut microflora. Intestinal epithelial-cell-specific inhibition of NF-kappaB through conditional ablation of NEMO (also called IkappaB kinase-gamma (IKKgamma)) or both IKK1 (IKKalpha) and IKK2 (IKKbeta)-IKK subunits essential for NF-kappaB activation-spontaneously caused severe chronic intestinal inflammation in mice. NF-kappaB deficiency led to apoptosis of colonic epithelial cells, impaired expression of antimicrobial peptides and translocation of bacteria into the mucosa. Concurrently, this epithelial defect triggered a chronic inflammatory response in the colon, initially dominated by innate immune cells but later also involving T lymphocytes. Deficiency of the gene encoding the adaptor protein MyD88 prevented the development of intestinal inflammation, demonstrating that Toll-like receptor activation by intestinal bacteria is essential for disease pathogenesis in this mouse model. Furthermore, NEMO deficiency sensitized epithelial cells to tumour-necrosis factor (TNF)-induced apoptosis, whereas TNF receptor-1 inactivation inhibited intestinal inflammation, demonstrating that TNF receptor-1 signalling is crucial for disease induction. These findings demonstrate that a primary NF-kappaB signalling defect in intestinal epithelial cells disrupts immune homeostasis in the gastrointestinal tract, causing an inflammatory-bowel-disease-like phenotype. Our results identify NF-kappaB signalling in the gut epithelium as a critical regulator of epithelial integrity and intestinal immune homeostasis, and have important implications for understanding the mechanisms controlling the pathogenesis of human inflammatory bowel disease.

TAK1 control of cell death

“…55,56 Hepatocyte-specific deletion of TAK1 triggers TNFa-dependent liver injury and hepatocellular carcinoma within 6 weeks of age, whereas loss of NF-kB activation by NEMO deletion causes much milder liver injury around 20 weeks of age. 57 Furthermore, it appears that NF-kB activity is not always regulated by TAK1 in some tissues in vivo.…”

Intestinal Microbes in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

“…In several genetically engineered and T-cell transfer models, luminal bacterial proteins provide the dominant antigenic stimulation for eff ector T helper 1 and T helper 17 cells (42,44) . Moreover, intestinal epithelial-specifi c defects in Toll-like receptor and nuclear factor-κ B signaling can lead to mucosal barrier defects, mucosal luminal bacterial translocation, and immune-mediated intestinal infl ammation ( 45 ). Finally, a primary etiologic role for intestinal dysbiosis is supported by transmission of colitis with fecal transplant ( 46,47 ).…”

Modeling infectious diseases and host-microbe interactions in gastrointestinal organoids

“…If PRRs are expressed in the intestinal epithelium but do not induce signaling leading to the transcription of proinflammatory cytokines or to Paneth cell degranulation, what could be the other effects of stimulation? Previous studies in mice have elegantly linked PRR signaling to epithelial homeostasis (Nenci et al, 2007;Rakoff-Nahoum et al, 2004). Organoid studies could now show that PAMPs have a direct effect on epithelial regeneration.…”